Studies

​

Overview

Lichess Studies is a powerful collaborative tool for chess analysis and learning. Studies allow you to create interactive chess content with annotations, variations, and computer analysis - perfect for building opening repertoires, analyzing games, teaching chess, or preparing for opponents.

​

What is a Study?

A study is a collection of chess chapters where you can:

• Annotate games with comments and arrows
• Add variations and alternative lines
• Include computer evaluations
• Create interactive lessons
• Collaborate with other users in real-time
• Build opening repertoires
• Prepare training materials

​

Study Structure

​

Studies and Chapters

Chapter Limit: Maximum 64 chapters per study Node Limit: Maximum 3,000 positions per chapter (prevents performance issues)

​

Creating a Study

​

Study Visibility

​

Visibility Options

​

Permission Settings

Control who can interact with your study:

• Computer Analysis: Nobody / Only members / Everyone
• Opening Explorer: Nobody / Only members / Everyone
• Clone: Nobody / Only members / Everyone (allows copying your study)
• Chat: Nobody / Only contributors / Everyone

​

Study Members

​

Member Roles

Owner

Full control over the study:

• Edit all chapters
• Add/remove members
• Change study settings
• Delete the study
• Cannot be removed (can transfer ownership)

Contributor

Can edit content:

• Create, edit, and delete chapters
• Add annotations and variations
• Cannot change study settings
• Cannot manage members

Viewer

Read-only access:

• Browse all chapters
• View annotations
• Cannot make changes
• Can comment if chat enabled

​

Inviting Members

1. Click “Study members” button
2. Enter username
3. Select role (Contributor or Viewer)
4. User receives invitation notification

​

Creating Chapters

​

Chapter Sources

​

Chapter Settings

• Name: Chapter title (auto-generated from game tags if applicable)
• Orientation: Board perspective (White/Black)
• Variant: Support all Lichess variants
• Game tags: PGN tags (Event, White, Black, Result, etc.)

​

Annotating Studies

​

Adding Comments

​

Shapes and Arrows

Visual annotations:

• Right-click and drag: Draw arrows
• Right-click square: Highlight square
• Colors: Green (good move), red (bad move), blue (alternative), yellow (highlight)
• Multiple shapes: Add as many as needed per position

​

Glyphs (Symbolic Annotations)

Standard chess annotation symbols:

• ! Good move
• !! Brilliant move
• ? Mistake
• ?? Blunder
• !? Interesting move
• ?! Dubious move
• = Equal position
• ± White is slightly better
• ∓ Black is slightly better

​

Working with Variations

​

Creating Variations

​

Promoting Variations

• Promote to mainline: Make a variation the main line
• Delete variation: Remove a side line
• Navigate: Use arrows or click moves to explore variations

​

Computer Analysis

​

Requesting Analysis

1. Open a chapter
2. Click “Request computer analysis” button
3. Server analyzes with Stockfish (may take 1-2 minutes)
4. Evaluations appear on each move

​

Analysis Display

• Evaluation bar: Visual representation of position evaluation
• Numerical evaluation: Centipawn evaluation (+0.5, -1.2, etc.) or mate count (M5)
• Depth: How deep Stockfish calculated
• Best move indicators: Shows if move matches engine recommendation
• Accuracy scores: Calculated accuracy percentage per player

​

Best Move Suggestions

Analysis shows:

• Whether played move was best
• Alternative moves and their evaluations
• Mistakes, inaccuracies, and blunders highlighted
• Suggested improvements

​

Special Study Modes

​

Practice Mode

Turn studies into training exercises: Perfect for:

• Opening repertoire training
• Tactical motif practice
• Endgame technique

​

Gamebook Mode

Interactive chess lessons:

• Create branching scenarios
• Add questions with multiple-choice answers
• Provide contextual hints
• Guide users through complex ideas
• Great for chess coaches and teachers

How it works:

1. Enable Gamebook mode in chapter settings
2. Add comment as “question”
3. Create variations as “answer choices”
4. Add feedback comments on each variation
5. Students work through the material interactively

​

Conceal Mode

Hide moves up to a certain ply:

• Test yourself by hiding opponent’s moves
• Reveal gradually as you progress
• Useful for guess-the-move training

​

Study Features

​

Opening Explorer

Access opening databases:

• Lichess database: Millions of Lichess games
• Masters database: High-level GM games
• Player database: Specific player’s games
• Shows popularity, results, and typical continuations

​

Server Evaluation

Deep computer analysis:

• Request deeper analysis than standard
• Higher depth = more accurate
• Queued processing for complex positions

​

PGN Export

Download studies:

• Export entire study or individual chapters
• PGN format compatible with all chess software
• Includes comments, variations, and annotations
• Can import into Chessbase, Fritz, etc.

​

Cloning Studies

Copy public studies:

• Clone any public study to your account
• Modify without affecting original
• Build upon others’ work
• Great for creating personal variations of popular repertoires

​

Collaborative Features

​

Real-time Collaboration

Multiple users editing simultaneously:

• Changes appear instantly for all members
• See who’s viewing (presence indicators)
• Built-in chat for discussion
• Edit same chapter or work on different chapters

​

Chat

Integrated messaging:

• Discuss positions and ideas
• Ask questions
• Share variations verbally
• Only available if study owner enables it

​

Spectators

Public studies allow viewing:

• Anyone can watch edits happen live
• Read-only unless granted member role
• Great for streaming analysis sessions

​

Study Topics

Categorize studies with topic tags:

• Opening repertoires: Build your opening knowledge
• Endgame studies: Technical positions and technique
• Tactics: Tactical patterns and puzzles
• Strategy: Positional concepts
• Famous games: Classic and modern masterpieces
• Preparation: Opponent preparation
• Lessons: Teaching materials

Topics make studies discoverable by search.

​

Study Likes and Rankings

Public studies can be liked:

• “Like” button shows appreciation
• Popular studies appear in featured section
• “Hot” studies have many recent likes
• Encourages quality content creation

​

Study Management

​

Organizing Chapters

• Reorder: Drag chapters to rearrange
• Rename: Edit chapter names anytime
• Delete: Remove unwanted chapters
• Duplicate: Copy chapter within same study
• Move: Transfer chapter to another study

​

Study Settings

Modify anytime:

• Change name and description
• Update visibility
• Adjust permissions
• Add/remove topics
• Enable/disable sticky comments

​

Deleting Studies

Only owner can delete:

• Permanently removes study and all chapters
• Cannot be undone
• Members lose access immediately

​

Study Search

Find studies:

• Search by title, author, or content
• Filter by topic
• Sort by popularity, date, or rating
• Browse featured and trending studies
• View studies by specific authors

​

Study Use Cases

​

Study Tips

​

Related Features