Why I’m Dropping Lichess

In this post I’m going to share why I decided to drop Lichess in favor of Chess.com.

One of the biggest challenges of taking chess seriously as an adult is finding the time to improve.

At my local chess club on Tuesday, I overheard a conversation that perfectly captured this struggle. A woman told her opponent that she can no longer beat her child at chess. Why? Because while she’s at work, her kid spends hours playing and studying the game after school.

That’s a luxury many adults don’t have. Between work, family responsibilities, and, well, life, chess improvement requires strategic time management.

For me, that means being intentional about both my study time and playing time. I realized that splitting my efforts between Chess.com and Lichess was counterproductive. It felt scattered and, psychologically, like I wasn’t making the best use of my time.

So, I made a decision: I’m dropping Lichess and focusing exclusively on Chess.com (along with over-the-board play as I transition into tournaments).

Why I Chose Chess.com Over Lichess

This isn’t about my current Lichess ratings. I’m actually rated much higher on Lichess. My Correspondence Rating there is 2215, an inflated provisional number that vastly overstates my real skill level.

In reality, I estimate my true correspondence strength to be somewhere between 1200-1300, and Chess.com’s harsher rating system provides a more realistic benchmark.

That said, here’s why I ultimately chose Chess.com:

• More realistic ratings – Still inflated compared to OTB (over-the-board), but closer.
• Better user experience – I vastly prefer the interface and Game Review features.
• Better puzzles – I find Chess.com’s puzzles to be nicer, though I also use ChessTempo.
• Higher-quality lessons and bots – An important part of my study plan.

While I prefer Chess.com, I still recognize that Lichess is a fantastic platform, and it’s great that a truly free chess site exists.

My Updated Chess Goals

With my focus now fully on Chess.com (and down the line tournaments), I’m streamling my long-term chess goals and adding a couple of puzzle goals.

This is all part of my broader chess experiment. If you’re interested in following my journey, subscribe to my newsletter for updates!