Lichess is a free, ad-free, open-source online chess server run as a non-profit. Founded in 2010 by Thibault Duplessis, it serves millions of players daily and is committed to keeping every feature permanently free — from rated games and tournaments to analysis and studies.

The platform covers the full spectrum of chess activity: classical, blitz, and bullet games, 12 chess variants (including Crazyhouse, Chess960, and Antichess), a tactics trainer with over 1.5 million community-sourced puzzles, an opening explorer backed by hundreds of millions of master and crowd-sourced games, coordinate training, and a full game analysis board. Lichess broadcasts live OTB events, supports public and private studies, and provides team and classroom tools for clubs and schools.

Because Lichess is fully open source, its codebase is community-maintained and constantly improving. Native iOS and Android apps mirror the full desktop experience. If you want a complete, zero-cost chess platform with no upsells, Lichess is the default recommendation.