# lichess • Online Chess

> Free, open-source online and offline chess platform with variants and analysis. (iPhone/iPad app by LICHESS.ORG.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lichess-online-chess/id968371784 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [LICHESS.ORG](https://appshunter.io/developer/968371783)
- Category: Entertainment, Games, Board, Strategy
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.86/5 from 2,087 App Store ratings · 397 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 68 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2015-03-04
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lichess-online-chess/id968371784/reviews.md

## What is lichess?

Built for the love of chess, this app is open source and free for all.

- 150 000 individual users daily and growing fast.
- Play bullet, blitz, classical, and correspondence chess
- Play in arena tournaments
- Find, follow, challenge players
- See your games stats
- Practice with chess puzzles
- Many variants, available online and offline: Crazyhouse, Chess 960, King Of The Hill, Three-check, Antichess, Atomic chess, Horde, Racing Kings!
- Game analysis with local computer evaluation
- Server computer analysis with move annotations and game summary
- Opening explorer
- Play against offline computer
- Over The Board mode to play offline with a friend
- Standalone chess clock with multiple time settings
- Board editor
- Available in 80 languages
- Designed for both phones and tablets, supporting landscape mode
- 100% free, without ads, and opensource!
 
Chess variants are supported! Try them all:

- Crazyhouse: every time a piece is captured the capturing player gets a piece of the same type and of their color in their pocket.
- Chess960: pieces on the home rank are randomised.
- King Of The Hill: bring your king to the center to win.
- Threecheck: check the opponent king three times.
- Antichess: lose all your pieces to win.
- Atomic Chess: nuke the opponent.
- Horde: destroy the horde to win.
- Racing Kings: Race your king to the eighth rank to win.
 
Just like http://lichess.org, this application is open source, and respects user freedom. It is entirely free and without ads, now and forever.

Learn more about lichess philosophy: http://lichess.org/blog/U4skkUQAAEAAhIGz/why-is-lichess-free
Source code of the mobile application: https://github.com/veloce/lichobile
Source code of the website and server: https://github.com/ornicar/lila

Big thanks to the volunteers behind this app:
- Vincent Velociter (lead dev) https://github.com/veloce
- Renaud Bressand (design) https://twitter.com/RenaudBressand
- Thibault Duplessis (dev) https://github.com/ornicar
- Sebastien Renault (dev of stockfish plugin) https://github.com/srenault
- Mark Henle (dev) https://github.com/freefal

Check out the app page on http://lichess.org/mobile, and follow us on twitter for updates: https://twitter.com/lichessorg

## Key features

- Online and offline play
- Multiple chess variants
- Arena tournaments
- Chess puzzles
- Game analysis
- Over The Board mode
- Standalone chess clock

## What do users think of lichess?

Overall sentiment: neutral

**Pros**

- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 🔓 No ads or subscriptions
- 💡 Unlimited puzzles and analysis
- 👍 Great community and features

**Cons**

- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- ⚠️ Cheating and bot issues
- 🔍 Difficult to report players
- 🕰️ Lag and connection problems

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Pieces not responding to touch input
- Incorrect move registrations and time loss
- Notifications not working as expected
- Crashes and freezes when switching between games

**Most requested features**

- Improved mobile UI and usability
- Ability to create and save custom studies
- Better notification system for correspondence games
- Separate display for Elo rating and performance

## Recent user reviews (10 of 397)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lichess-online-chess/id968371784/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Defamers and Slanderers

*2026-03-11, version 8.0.0*

I’ve never cheated at a game in my life. I’m only ranked around 1200 ffs. Yet these moderators accuse me of using outside help?? Idiots.

### 3/5 — Analysis not working

*2026-03-10, version 8.0.0*

Hope to change this when bug is fixed

### 5/5 — The best online chess

*2026-03-08, version 8.0.0*

It’s free, open source, has good matchmaking, no ads. Hands down the best chess client.

### 4/5 — Please fix bug

*2026-03-07, version 8.0.0*

Best chess app but now there’s a bug where the analysis and opening explorer won’t work

### 1/5 — Cheating and bots

*2026-02-22, version 8.0.0*

Used to be a good app, but moderators don’t take cheating seriously and ignore patterns of cheating

### 2/5 — Pesimo

*2026-02-22, version 8.0.0*

Deja mucho que desear esta aplicación ,lo único que sirve es el motor de ajedrez ,como plataforma no sirve ,aprendan de Chess.com por favor

### 2/5 — What happened?

*2026-02-19, version 8.0.0*

Buggy across the app and often get a ‘can’t connect to lichess’ error. Puzzle solutions still don’t reveal themselves after tapping ‘view solution’

### 1/5 — Cheaters

*2026-02-19, version 8.0.0*

Too many cheaters on the app.

### 5/5 — Gg for gpeople

*2026-02-10, version 8.0.0*

Just enjoy it

### 1/5 — low quality

*2026-02-02, version 8.0.0*

Lots of cheaters. Bad connection, poor puzzles, they also stole my rating. It’s better to pay fpr chess.com

## Frequently asked questions about lichess

### What can I do with this chess app?

This app allows you to play chess online against users worldwide in various time controls like bullet, blitz, and classical. You can also participate in arena tournaments, practice with chess puzzles, and play against an offline computer. It supports numerous chess variants and offers game analysis tools.

### Is this app free to use?

Yes, the app is 100% free, without ads, and is open source. The developers are committed to keeping it free for all users, reflecting their philosophy of respecting user freedom.

### What chess variants are available?

The app supports a wide array of chess variants including Crazyhouse, Chess 960, King Of The Hill, Three-check, Antichess, Atomic chess, Horde, and Racing Kings. These variants can be played online and some are available offline.

### Can I play chess offline with a friend?

Yes, the app features an 'Over The Board' mode specifically designed for playing offline with a friend. It also includes a standalone chess clock with multiple time settings for your games.

### How does the game analysis feature work?

The app provides game analysis with local computer evaluation, allowing you to review your games. For deeper insights, server computer analysis is also available, offering move annotations and a game summary.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 8.0.0 — 2022-12-06

What's changed:
- Fix timeline XSS by @jas14
- Disable back button on game while playing by @veloce
- Update to capacitor 4.0 by @veloce

### 7.16.0 — 2022-08-11

Improvements and bug fixes:
* Scale promo piece size relative to screen width
* Added Anarcandy chess pieces
* Fix iOS 15 audio when using headphones
* Correct the route for study chapters
* Added current number of move to the chess clock ui
* Use haptic engine in local AI game
* New translations

### 7.15.2 — 2022-04-15

Improvements/bug fixes
* Fix canceling new game after editing board in https://github.com/lichess-org/lichobile/pull/2060
* Fix bad display on square screen in https://github.com/lichess-org/lichobile/pull/2062
* Fix set tv channel in https://github.com/lichess-org/lichobile/pull/2071
* Make game events emit haptic effects in https://github.com/lichess-org/lichobile/pull/2079
* New translations in https://github.com/lichess-org/lichobile/pull/2057

**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/lichess-org/lichobile/compare/v7.15.1...v7.15.2

### 7.15.1 — 2022-03-09

New feature
* You can now sync the theme with system so it automatically switch between dark an light

Improvements/bug fixes
* Fix wrong eval being displayed with multi lines
* Fix board aspect for square screens
* Fix number of checks when rewinding a 3-check game
* Fix clocks not flipped when flipping the board
* New translations

Get the full changelog: https://github.com/lichess-org/lichobile/compare/v7.15.0...v7.15.1

### 7.15.0 — 2022-02-27

New features
* Threat mode

Improvements/fixes
* Allow choice of color for standard rated games
* Add more timeline entries and patron wings
* Fix players board flip during game
* Stop clocks until move readback is received
* Don't play sounds while in background
* Fix game toast position
* Compute arena score colors
* New translations
* See full changelog https://github.com/lichess-org/lichobile/compare/v7.14.1...v7.15.0

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## More apps by LICHESS.ORG

- [Lichess](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lichess/id1662361230)

All apps by LICHESS.ORG: https://appshunter.io/developer/968371783

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*