How to Use Lichess Studies to Improve Your Game

In the digital age of chess, improving your skills no longer requires expensive books, over-the-board tournaments, or even a human training partner. One of the most powerful—and free—tools available to players of all levels is Lichess Studies. Whether you’re a complete beginner or an aspiring titled player, Lichess Studies can revolutionize how you train, learn, and grow as a chess player.

This article will explore what Lichess Studies are, how to create and use them effectively, and practical strategies to incorporate them into your training routine. We’ll also look at real use cases, tips from titled players, and how AI and community features on Lichess turn this tool into a digital classroom.

What Is a Lichess Study?

A Lichess Study is a feature on Lichess.org that allows users to create interactive chess lesson content. Studies can include:

Annotated games
Puzzles
Opening repertoires
Tactics and endgame positions
Embedded engine analysis
Comments, arrows, and visual aids
Collaborative group work

Think of a study as a digital chess notebook, but far more powerful.

Each study is organized into chapters, and each chapter is essentially a position or game that you can annotate and explore interactively. You can also add video, text notes, and training tasks to make it more immersive.

Benefits of Using Lichess Studies

Interactive Learning: Unlike PDFs or books, studies let you move pieces, explore variations, and use engine evaluation in real time.
Free and Open-Source: No cost. No ads. No subscriptions. Everything is available from your browser or the Lichess mobile app.
Customizable for All Levels: Whether you’re trying to understand basic pins or preparing a line in the Najdorf, studies scale to your needs.
Sharable and Collaborative: Studies can be shared publicly or kept private. Coaches often use them to train students, and friends can co-edit for group analysis.
Integration with Stockfish and Opening Explorer: The built-in engine and database help validate and reinforce your study.

How to Create a Study: Step-by-Step

Log in to Lichess
- You need a free Lichess account to create or contribute to studies.
Navigate to “Study”
- Click on the “Learn” tab → “Study” → “+ New Study”.
Set Parameters
- Choose:
  - Title
  - Visibility (public/private/unlisted)
  - Collaborative permissions (who can edit or contribute)
  - Whether to enable engine analysis, move tracking, etc.
Create Chapters
- Each chapter can be:
  - An imported PGN or game from your history
  - A custom position (for puzzles or concepts)
  - An opening line
  - An endgame drill
Annotate and Analyze
- Add comments to specific moves.
- Use arrows and highlights.
- Turn on the engine to add evaluations and suggested lines.
- Add variations to explain side lines or traps.

Best Use Cases for Lichess Studies

1. Building an Opening Repertoire

Create a study with chapters for each variation in your opening system.

Example: If you play the Queen’s Gambit Declined, make a chapter for:

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6
Exchange Variation
Orthodox Defense
Alatortsev Variation

Add:

Thematic ideas and pawn breaks
Common traps
Your own games
Engine suggestions

You can even create “training mode” chapters where you’re quizzed move by move.

2. Annotating Your Games

After playing a rapid or classical game, especially a loss or draw, import it into a study.

Steps:

Add a new chapter → “From Game”
Annotate your thoughts: What were you thinking during critical moments?
Use the engine to find inaccuracies or blunders.
Create variations to explore “what if” lines.

This reflective process builds pattern recognition and decision-making.

3. Endgame Practice

Use studies to compile theoretical positions like:

King and pawn vs. king
Lucena and Philidor rook endings
Bishop and knight mate

Add instructive commentary, mark key squares with arrows, and include forced move sequences.

Practice these in drill mode or with a friend.

4. Tactics Training

Instead of using just the puzzle section, you can:

Create a tactics collection from your own games.
Sort them by themes (forks, pins, deflections).
Add clues or solutions in the notes.

Lichess even lets you turn studies into quizzes.

5. Game Collections

Use Lichess Studies to collect:

Classic games (e.g., Morphy’s Opera Game, Fischer vs. Spassky)
Great sacrifices
Matches from recent tournaments

You can annotate them with your own analysis, coach comments, or AI insights.

Tips to Make the Most of Lichess Studies

1. Use Arrows and Circles Liberally

Visuals are key to absorbing ideas. Use:

Green arrows for good plans
Red for mistakes
Highlights to mark critical squares or threats

2. Practice Variations Actively

Don’t just read the moves—play them out. Use the interactive board to test side lines and hypothetical moves.

3. Quiz Yourself

Turn chapters into interactive puzzles by disabling the move list and trying to find the best move at each step.

4. Share and Learn with Others

Find public studies by strong players. Some great channels:

IM Andras Toth’s repertoire studies
User-created tactics libraries
Tournament analysis compilations

You can fork (duplicate and edit) these for personal use.

5. Organize Studies by Topic

Use descriptive titles:

“Ruy Lopez – Anti-Berlin”
“Tactics – Back Rank Mates”
“Endgames – Rook vs. Pawn”

This way, your digital library grows in a structured way.

Advanced Features You Might Miss

Move Tracker: See which lines you’ve reviewed.
Engine Depth Settings: Set how deep Stockfish calculates (useful for serious prep).
PGN Import: Copy-paste PGNs from other platforms or books.
Time Stamps and Notes: Add timestamps for video-linked studies.

Real-Life Examples of Lichess Study Use

1. Coaches and Students

A coach can create a shared study and assign homework:

Annotate 3 games
Practice one opening line
Solve 5 tactics from your games

The coach can comment directly in the study, making it a live feedback system.

2. Club and Team Training

Chess clubs often collaborate on a study before tournaments. It allows team members to:

Prepare openings
Analyze opponents’ games
Post post-mortems after each round

3. Solo Improvement Journey

Players climbing the rating ladder often maintain personal study libraries with:

Lessons learned
Weekly goals
Reviewed classics

Conclusion

Lichess Studies are one of the most underrated but transformative tools available to chess players in the digital age. With its interactive features, powerful analysis tools, and community-driven flexibility, it offers a completely free, world-class environment for chess improvement.

Whether you want to perfect your opening, annotate your losses, master endgames, or review historical games, Studies allow you to learn actively, visually, and deeply.

If you’re not already using this feature, start by creating your first study today. It might just be the game-changer your chess journey needs.