Lichess review: scores and evidence

A1 :2Importing your games (Chess.com, Lichess, PGN files)free

https://lichess.org/ Tools menu › “Import game”; games played on Lichess are native. No Chess.com connection.

A2 :1Automatic engine analysis of every gamefree

https://lichess.org/faq Stockfish analysis on request (“Request a computer analysis”, site.xml); neither automatic nor with a published depth.

A3 :1Recurring mistakes identified across all your gamesfree

https://lichess.org/insights/thibault — Insights = aggregated statistics (openings, accuracy); no error named and counted

A4 :1Types of mistakes covered (tactics, strategy, endgame, time…)free

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/puzzle.xml — “Improvement areas” by puzzle theme: the tactical axis alone, no typology across games

A5 :1Written explanation of each mistakefree

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/site.xml — blunder/mistake/inaccuracy labels, “Learn from your mistakes”; no explanatory text per error

A6 :0Stated verification of the diagnoses (procedure, rates)

no mention of diagnostic reliability on https://lichess.org/faq or https://lichess.org/about

A7 :1Tracking each weakness over timefree

https://lichess.org/player rating curves and leaderboards by time control; no per-period play indicator found.

A8 :1Comparison with players of the same ratingfree

https://lichess.org/player standing in the global leaderboards; no per-axis comparison against a rating band.

B1 :2Building a personal repertoirefree

https://lichess.org/study studies: chapters, game/PGN import, editable variation tree; no suggestion drawn from the player’s own games.

B2 :2Training the repertoire (drills, games)free

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/study.xml “Interactive lesson” mode (play the right move); neither spaced repetition nor an opponent playing the repertoire.

B3 :1Spotting where you left your repertoire in your gamesfree

https://lichess.org/insights/thibault statistics by opening; no detection of a deviation from a repertoire.

B4 :2Verification of the lines taught (engine, practice)free

https://lichess.org/api/openapi.yaml sourced explorer (masters/lichess/player) + “cloud evaluations”; no published protocol or threshold.

B5 :3Opening explorer and statisticsfree

https://lichess.org/api/openapi.yaml /masters, /lichess and /player explorer + cloud evaluations; time-control and rating filters on https://lichess.org/opening.

B6 :1Explanation of opening plans and ideasfree

https://lichess.org/opening names, moves, popularity and statistics; no written plan found on the page consulted.

C1 :2Exercises drawn from your own gamesfree

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/puzzleTheme.xml “Player games: puzzles generated from your games”; no success rate per weakness.

C2 :3Bank of tactical exercises (size, themes, rating)free

https://database.lichess.org/ 6,057,356 puzzles “rated, and tagged”; themes (lichess.org/training/themes); “Great/Bad puzzle” votes (puzzle.xml).

C3 :2Endgame trainingfree

https://lichess.org/practice Pawn endgames and Rook endgames modules (Lucena, Philidor); partial 8-piece tablebases (blog, 12 Aug 2026).

C4 :1Strategic and positional trainingfree

https://lichess.org/study — community studies (passive content); Practice = endgames/mates, no native positional exercise

C5 :2Training defense and alertnessfree

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/puzzleTheme.xml — “Defensive move” theme (a single sub-type); hangingPiece/trappedPiece are attacking themes

C6 :1Training calculation and visualizationfree

https://lichess.org/ Learn menu › “Coordinates”; no calculation/visualisation programme found.

C7 :2Difficulty matched to your real levelfree

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/puzzle.xml “Rating: %s”, difficulty Easiest→Hardest relative to the “puzzle rating” (Glicko-2, faq).

C8 :1Spaced repetition (named algorithm)free

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/puzzle.xml — “Puzzle history” (replay the puzzles you failed); no spaced repetition

C9 :1Personalized training planfree

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/puzzle.xml — “Improvement areas — Train these to optimise your progress”: generic advice, not a daily queue

D1 :3What the free plan actually lets you dofree

https://lichess.org/patron “Lichess is entirely free, forever, and for everyone”; Patron = cosmetic wings only.

D2 :3Annual price of the full planfree

https://lichess.org/patron €0: no paid offering, optional donation (rule: free).

D3 :3Commercial transparency (price shown, trial, cancellation)free

https://lichess.org/patron nothing to buy; the donation can be changed or cancelled on the patron page or through PayPal; 14-day refund (terms-of-service).

D4 :3Number of paid tiers (how simple the offer is)free

https://lichess.org/features — “All features are free for everybody, forever”; Patron = a donation with no reserved feature

E1 :0Published evidence of effectiveness

no effectiveness data on https://lichess.org/about or https://lichess.org/faq

E2 :1Chess verification of the content (positions, lines)free

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/puzzle.xml “Great puzzle! / Bad puzzle!” votes: fixes once reported; no published protocol.

E3 :3Transparency of the method (algorithms, code)free

https://github.com/lichess-org/lila AGPL-3.0, 18,691 stars, pushed 31 Aug 2026; https://lichess.org/source lists the repositories, fishnet/Stockfish.

E4 :2Marketing claims that can be checked (no overselling)free

https://lichess.org/about factual wording (“free/libre, open-source, no ads”); no limitation explicitly stated.

F1 :1Courses organized by rating levelfree

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/learn.xml beginner lessons (pieces, mate in 1, castling) and Practice, with no level label.

F2 :1Course authors named and titledfree

https://lichess.org/study study authors named (contributors); title not shown in the list consulted.

F3 :2Content formats (text, video, interactive)free

https://lichess.org/ Learn (text/interactive: Chess basics, Practice, Study) + Watch › “Video library”; videos not tied to the exercises.

F4 :1Published method of progressionfree

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/learn.xml stage progression for the basics only; no curriculum beyond that.

F5 :3How often the content is updatedfree

https://lichess.org/blog posts dated 16 Aug, 12 Aug, 7 Aug, 4 Aug and 6 Jul 2026: monthly publishing documented.

G1 :3Playing humans online (pool, anti-cheating)free

https://lichess.org/about “more than five million games every day”; all time controls (faq); https://lichess.org/page/fair-play documented anti-cheating.

G2 :2Realistic artificial opponentsfree

https://lichess.org/@/maia1 “BOT maia1 … human-like neural network … trained on 10 million Lichess games between 1100s”; thinking time not documented.

G3 :2Replaying one specific position against the machinefree

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/site.xml “Continue from here” + “Practice with computer” from the analysis of your own games.

G4 :3Tournaments and organized competitionfree

https://lichess.org/tournament hourly and daily arenas, Swiss, “Titled Arena”; blog, 12 Aug 2026: Bundesliga at its 672nd edition, team leagues.

H1 :3Platforms available (web, iOS, Android, desktop)free

https://lichess.org/mobile links to Google Play (org.lichess.mobileV2), the App Store (id1662361230) and F-Droid; plus the website.

H2 :1User ratings and reviews (stores, press)free

https://apps.apple.com/app/lichess/id1662361230 4.0/5 (556 ratings); https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.lichess.mobileV2 3.8/5 (13.8K ratings).

H3 :3Interface languages availablefree

https://lichess.org/faq and https://crowdin.com/project/lichess: more than 80 interface languages translated by the community, content (puzzles, practice, training) localised, move notation can be localised in the preferences

H4 :2Accessibility (keyboard, screen reader)free

https://lichess.org/about “blind mode”; nvui.xml screen reader, keyboardMove.xml keyboard input; no accessibility guide found.

H5 :2Offline use and known incidentsfree

https://apps.apple.com/app/lichess/id1662361230 offline puzzles and engine analysis; blog VGPcQtN3 offline play against the computer. status.lichess.org did not resolve.

I1 :2Preparing for a named opponentfree

https://lichess.org/features — “Personal opening explorer (also works on other players)”: repertoire by colour and results for a named player; other players' insights (insight.xml)

I2 :3Annotating and sharing games (studies)free

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/study.xml — multi-chapter studies, contributors (“Add members”, “Contributor”), real-time sync, public/unlisted, cloning

I3 :1Entering a game played at a club (photo, scoresheet)free

https://lichess.org/features — “Board editor”, “Import game” (paste a PGN); no photo/OCR recognition

I4 :3Searching your games (filters, position)free

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila-openingexplorer/master/README.md — /player: the player’s games by position; search.xml: opponent, colour, result and date filters

J1 :3Access to human coachesfree

https://lichess.org/coach “NM or FIDE title” required and verified (coach.xml), hourly rate, “Accepting students”, private message.

J2 :3Size and activity of the communityfree

https://lichess.org/forum 691,600 messages (General), activity the same day; https://lichess.org/team “Lichess Swiss” 729,996 members.

J3 :1Tools for trainers, clubs and schoolsfree

https://lichess.org/class generated student accounts, “Track student progress in games and puzzles”; no homework found (class.xml).

J4 :3Engagement mechanics (streaks, virtual currency, reminders)free

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lichess-org/lila/master/translation/source/preferences.xml “Show player ratings” can be switched off, “Zen mode”; no paid mechanic (lichess.org/patron).

K1 :2Exporting your data (games, repertoire)free

https://lichess.org/api/openapi.yaml “Download all games of any user in PGN”; personal data on request (privacy); no full self-service export.

K2 :3Protection of personal data (GDPR, hosting)free

https://lichess.org/privacy GDPR, DPO gdpr@lichess.org, “servers located in the European Union”, no advertising and no trackers.

K3 :3Public API and source codefree

https://github.com/lichess-org/lila source code under AGPL-3.0; public API documented at https://lichess.org/api.