Games 3 and 4 of the 14-game match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren have just been played in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The winner will be crowned as the new World Champion in classical chess, following Magnus Carlsen’s abdication of the title. 

The schedule of games can be found here, with Lichess providing a live broadcast transmission of all games. Read below for detailed thoughts and annotations on the games from GM David Navara – one of the strongest players in the world (FIDE Rating: 2676, World Rank: 59), along with more general impressions given on the tournament so far. 

Continue reading this post

The first two games of the 14-game match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren have already been played in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The winner will be crowned as the new World Champion in classical chess, following Magnus Carlsen’s abdication of the title. 

The schedule of games can be found here, with Lichess providing a broadcast transmission of all games. GM David Navara (2676, World #59) is providing annotations for games 1 - 4.

Continue reading this post

Officially since 1886 and unofficially since at least the 1830s, World Chess Championships have been played to determine the World Champion in chess. The title-holder since 2013, Magnus Carlsen, has abdicated his throne without being defeated. This means that Ian Nepomniachtchi (ranked #2 in the world, with a current rating of 2795) will play Ding Liren (ranked #3, with a 2788 rating) for the title in a 14-game match in Astana, Kazakhstan, with the first game scheduled for Sunday 9 April.

Continue reading this post

[EDIT] April fools! Unfortunately, life still moves pretty fast, but Lichess no longer has decrement time controls. Thanks to everybody participating in our 1-1 Arena, it was fun!

Continue reading this post

The third leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix was due to begin yesterday, but after a turbulent 24 hours it has only begun today amid chaotic scenes and the withdrawal of multiple players.

(Title image: the players confer - photo credit ChessBase India / Aditya Sur Roy)

Continue reading this post

PHOTO: Lennart Ootes / WR Chess Masters

When Levon Aronian made a quick draw against co-leader Dommaraju Gukesh in the final round of the WR Chess Masters, it seemed like an uncharacteristically timid move for the Armenian grandmaster, who’s long been known as one of the most creative and aggressive players on the tour. But it was all part of his strategy: after that quiet interlude, the lover of classical music brought it to a crescendo in the rapid tiebreaker, where he blasted Gukesh and Ian Nepomniachtchi, who also joined the tie for first, in three straight games to crown tournament victory.

Continue reading this post

Shohreh Bayat had not been planning to take a stand, but sometimes it happens anyway. She was working as the Chief Arbiter for the 2020 Women’s World Championship held in China when the President of the Chess Federation from her native Iran sent a message that got under her skin. “The president of the chess federation sent me a message; he said my hijab is not proper. It really made me furious,” Bayat told Lichess in an interview. Head scarves partially covering the hair, also called “hijabs,” must be worn by women at all times in Iran by law. The President’s complaint to Bayat sprung from the head scarf’s exact position; it was too far back, revealing too much hair. “I was already doing my best to tolerate this with difficulty. It was fine by Iranian standards, but he was pushing me and pushing me. I was miles away from my country and they were still hassling me.” Bayat decided to make a little show of force, nothing serious, just a small reminder that she couldn’t be pushed around.

Continue reading this post

We're pleased to announce the schedule for our upcoming Titled Arenas!

All events will be preceded by a warm-up arena open to all players with a minimum of 20 rated games in the relevant time control (excluding 960 warm-up, where the minimum rated games are 10).

Continue reading this post

Like that, 2022 is over! Is it just us, or does it feel like it has flown by? 2022 has been an unprecedentedly eventful year for chess, and it’s been no exception for us at Lichess. Thank you to everyone who makes it possible – to all those who volunteer, to all those who share their spare CPU power, to all those who spread the word about Lichess, and of course to all those who financially support us.

Here’s a recap of some of the work we’ve done over the course of the year.

Continue reading this post

For the first few millennia, life on this planet made a certain degree of sense. Creatures would eat, reproduce and subsequently die followed by their offspring doing roughly the same. Then, not much more than a hundred years ago, we humans devised a way to harness electricity, that weird stuff originally figured to be used by the Gods to indicate displeasure with us, to emit light, power machines, play video games, and now to communicate with other humans anywhere on earth without anyone leaving their house. Admittedly, not leaving the house has complicated the original eating and mating aspects of multicellular life, but modern makeshift solutions have been devised.

Continue reading this post