The Lumichess Journal
Writing on chess improvement, and the tools we build to help.
Free chess puzzles and the Woodpecker Method: a tactics trainer built on repetition
Solving a puzzle once teaches you almost nothing. The Woodpecker trainer makes you solve the same frozen set in faster, cleaner cycles until the patterns are automatic, with a do-better gate that keeps the speed honest.
How to actually review your chess games
The single habit that moved my rating more than any opening I studied. A simple routine you can run in ten minutes: write down what you were thinking, find where the game turned, and ask whether you would find the move again.
Chess Insights: your full game history as performance trends
A free statistics dashboard over every game you have played: rating over time, opening results, opponent breakdowns, an activity heatmap, a filterable game list, and a FIDE player lookup. The long-horizon view of whether your improvement is working.
Profile Report: a full diagnostic of your last 40 games
Every section of the Profile Report explained: Skill Profile radar, Opening leaks, Tactics vs your opponents, Endgame by position type, Advantage Capitalization, Time pressure, Resourcefulness, Consistency, Improvement Plan, and more.
Game Report: a move-by-move breakdown of every game
A free, in-browser Stockfish 18 review of any Chess.com or Lichess game: move classifications, win-probability accuracy, an eval graph, and move-by-move coach commentary.
Play chess online free against real people
Play live chess online free against real human opponents, powered by the Lichess Board API. Games save to your Lichess profile and flow straight into a Game Report for review.