Tournaments

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Overview

Lichess hosts thousands of tournaments daily, from hourly blitz arenas to prestigious titled championships. Tournaments provide competitive chess with rankings, prizes, and the thrill of multi-game competition.

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Tournament Types

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Arena Tournaments

The most popular format on Lichess: Arena Scoring:

• Win = 2 points
• Draw = 1 point
• Loss = 0 points
• Win streak bonus: +2 points for double wins, +4 for triple wins, etc.
• Berserk bonus: Half your clock at game start for 1 extra point

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Swiss Tournaments

More structured format similar to over-the-board tournaments:

• Fixed number of rounds (typically 5-11)
• All players play the same number of games
• Swiss pairing system matches players with similar scores
• Must be present for all rounds
• 1 point for win, 0.5 for draw, 0 for loss
• Tiebreaks: Buchholz, Sonneborn-Berger

Best for:

• Players who want predictable tournament length
• Fair competition with fewer rating mismatches
• More traditional chess tournament experience

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Scheduled Tournaments

Lichess runs regular scheduled tournaments:

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Frequency Tiers

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Special Tournaments

Shield Tournaments

The most prestigious regular events:

• One per variant per month
• Winner receives a Shield trophy (visible on profile)
• Duration: 3-10 hours depending on speed
• Highly competitive with strong players
• Defending your shield is a badge of honor

Titled Tournaments

Exclusive events for titled players:

• Titled Arena: Open to all titled players (GM, IM, FM, WGM, WIM, etc.)
• GM Arena: Grandmasters only
• IM Arena: International Masters only
• Prize pools often included
• Spectators can watch live

Yearly Tournaments

Annual championship events:

• Once per year for major variants
• Duration: 4-10 hours
• Prestigious victories
• Often commemorative events

Marathon Tournaments

Endurance events:

• Last 24 hours
• Test stamina and consistency
• Experimental marathons also exist (4 hours)

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Time Controls

Tournaments span all speed categories:

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Speed Categories

• UltraBullet: 15+0 (15 seconds total)
• HyperBullet: 30+0
• Bullet: 1+0, 2+1 (1-2 minutes)
• SuperBlitz: 3+0, 3+1
• Blitz: 3+2, 5+0, 5+3 (3-8 minutes total)
• Rapid: 10+0, 10+5, 15+10 (8-25 minutes)
• Classical: 30+0, 30+20 (25+ minutes)

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Variants

Tournaments are available for all supported variants:

• Standard Chess
• Chess960 (Fischer Random)
• Crazyhouse
• King of the Hill
• Three-check
• Antichess
• Atomic
• Horde
• Racing Kings

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Thematic Tournaments

Start from specific positions:

• Named openings (e.g., Sicilian Defense, Italian Game)
• Custom positions
• Tests opening knowledge and understanding
• Both players start from the same position (one as White, one as Black)

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Creating Custom Tournaments

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As a Regular User

Create tournaments for teams, friends, or clubs:

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Tournament Conditions

Control who can join:

• Minimum/Maximum Rating: Restrict rating range
• Minimum Rated Games: Require experience (prevents new accounts)
• Team Battle: Restrict to team members
• Account Age: Require accounts older than X days
• Title Requirement: Only titled players
• Password: Private tournaments with entry code

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Team Battles

Special tournament format for team competition:

• Multiple teams compete simultaneously
• Players earn points for their team
• Team leaderboard shows team rankings
• Individual leaderboard shows best players
• Often sponsored with prizes
• Great for team spirit and club competitions

How it works:

1. Must be member of a participating team to join
2. Play normal arena tournament games
3. Your points contribute to your team’s score
4. Winner determined by team total points

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Tournament Features

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During the Tournament

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Berserk Mode

Risk-reward mechanic available in most Arena tournaments:

• Click the Berserk button before making your first move
• Your clock is cut in half
• Win = +3 points instead of +2 (1 bonus point)
• Lose = still 0 points
• Cannot berserk on first game

Strategy:

• Berserk when you have a significant advantage
• Avoid berserk in equal positions
• Good players can gain significant point bonuses

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Streak Scoring

Win consecutive games for bonus points:

• 2 wins in a row: +2 bonus (4 points for 2nd win)
• 3 wins in a row: +4 additional bonus (6 points for 3rd win)
• 4+ wins: continues scaling
• Streak breaks on loss or draw

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Tournament Interface

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Information Displayed

• Time remaining: Countdown to tournament end
• Your ranking: Current position and points
• Top players: Leaderboard showing leaders
• Your games: History of tournament games
• Upcoming opponent: Who you’ll play next (if paired)

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Tournament Page Sections

• Leaderboard: Rankings and scores
• Featured games: Watch top players compete
• Your games: Review your tournament performance
• Stats: Participation numbers, rating averages
• Chat: Discuss with other participants (if enabled)

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Joining Tournaments

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Entry Requirements

Before joining, check:

• Rating requirements (if any)
• Minimum games played requirement
• Time control (can you commit?)
• Tournament duration
• Entry conditions

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How to Join

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Tournament Strategy

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Tournament History

View your tournament performance:

• Browse past tournaments participated in
• See final rankings and scores
• Review games from each tournament
• Track improvement over time
• Filter by variant, speed, or result

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Fair Play in Tournaments

Lichess enforces strict fair play:

• Engine detection: Statistical analysis identifies cheating
• Multi-accounting: Duplicate accounts banned
• Rating manipulation: Suspicious patterns investigated
• Entry restrictions: New accounts restricted from some events

Violators are removed and banned from future tournaments.

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Prizes and Recognition

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Trophy System

• 1st Place: Gold trophy (visible on profile)
• 2nd Place: Silver trophy
• 3rd Place: Bronze trophy
• Shield Winners: Special shield trophy
• Titled Event Winners: Prestigious recognition

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Title Norms

Some titled tournaments award official FIDE title norms (coordinated with FIDE).

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Tournament Leaderboards

Compete for overall rankings:

• Most tournament wins: Career wins leaderboard
• Shield holders: Who holds which shields
• Monthly leaders: Best performers each month
• Rating categories: Separate leaderboards per rating range

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Related Features