How to Analyze a Lichess Game
Lichess gives you free, unlimited computer analysis — full Stockfish evaluation, accuracy scores, and a move-by-move eval graph. What it doesn't give you is the interpretation. This guide covers the routine: run the analysis, find the turning points, and turn the numbers into named lessons and training.
Step 1: Run the computer analysis
Open the finished game and request computer analysis. When it finishes, you have three views of the same story: the evaluation graph (how the game swung), accuracy scores (how clean each side played), and move annotations (where the mistakes were). Read the graph first — the story of the game is in its two or three biggest cliffs.
Step 2: Find the turning points, not every mistake
A game usually contains a dozen errors and one or two moments that decided it. The first cliff in the graph — not the last one — is usually where the game turned, because everything after it is consequence. Find that position, then look at two things: the move you played, and the engine's suggestion. Before reading any lines, ask yourself what the better move accomplishes that yours didn't.
Step 3: Translate the eval swing into words
An evaluation drop of two pawns is not a lesson; the lesson is the motif. Ask what feature of the position your move ignored: a pin on a knight that was defending the center? A fork of king and queen? A loose piece? Naming the pattern is what makes it retrievable in your next game. Our tactics map walks through the common motifs with training links for each.
Step 4: Convert the lesson into training
Lichess is unusually good in this step — once you know the theme, you can drill it directly with puzzle themes and studies. Ten focused minutes on the motif that cost you the game does more than an hour of random puzzles. The trick is deciding which theme deserves the ten minutes, which is exactly the judgment call that engine output leaves to you.
Step 5: The URL shortcut
If you would rather skip steps 1–3, Chessmasters does them for you. You paste the Lichess game URL, and Stockfish enrichment plus the AI coaching layer produce a written report: where the game turned, which pattern decided it, and the two or three focus areas worth training — with the training material linked. It covers both Lichess and Chess.com games, and the first report is free.
To be clear: Lichess analysis is excellent and free, and you never need another tool to see engine truth. Chessmasters is for the interpretation layer — reading the why in plain English instead of centipawns.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lichess computer analysis free?
Yes. Requesting computer analysis on a Lichess game is free and unlimited, and it includes full Stockfish evaluation, accuracy scores, and move annotations.
How do I turn on computer analysis on Lichess?
Open a finished game in the analysis board and use the computer analysis toggle, or request analysis from the game page. The evaluation graph, accuracy, and move classifications appear once the engine finishes.
Can Chessmasters analyze my Lichess games?
Yes. Paste the game URL on the homepage and Chessmasters fetches the game directly — no account linking, no PGN export, and the first report is free.