Lichess APK Download v for Android
| Updated | October 2026 |
| Size | 161 MB |
| Version | 0.29.1 |
| Requirements | Android 12L (API 32) and up |
| Downloads | 1000000 |
Description
A lichess apk download puts the world’s most-loved free chess platform in your pocket — with zero ads, zero paywalls and zero tracking. Lichess is a free, open-source chess app powered by volunteers and donations, and it is one of the most popular chess sites on earth: more than five million games are played on Lichess every single day. The Android app gives you the full experience: blitz, rapid and classical games against millions of players or bots, thousands of tactical puzzles, free Stockfish engine analysis, interactive lessons, live tournament broadcasts, and studies you can share with friends. Everything the legendary website does, the app does — and everything is completely free, forever.
In this guide you will find everything about Lichess for Android: what makes it different from every other chess app, every key feature explained, an honest comparison with the alternatives, the official download button, a three-step installation walkthrough, practical tips for improving your game, and answers to the questions people ask most.
App Info
| App Name | Lichess |
| Status | Active & Updated |
| Version | 0.29.1 |
| Size | 161 MB (universal APK) |
| Developer | lichess.org |
| Category | Games |
| License | Free & Open Source (GPL-3.0) |
| Rating Average | 3.7/5 |
| Number of Votes | 14K+ |
| Downloads | 1M+ (Google Play) |
| Requires | Android 12L (API 32) and up |
| Updated | October 2026 |
What Makes Lichess Different
Nearly every chess app on your phone follows the same business model: a free tier that is deliberately limited, and a premium subscription that unlocks the features you actually want — unlimited puzzles, deep engine analysis, lessons, ad-free play. Lichess inverts that completely. It is run as a non-profit by lichess.org, funded by donations, and every single feature is free for every single player. There is no premium tier, no energy system, no ads between games. The puzzles are unlimited. The Stockfish analysis is the strongest engine in the world, running free on your device. The lessons are free. That is not a marketing line; it is the entire point of the project.
The second difference is that you are joining a living community, not a single-player app with a store attached. Over five million games happen on Lichess every day, which means matchmaking at your level takes seconds at any hour — 3 AM blitz included. Arena tournaments run around the clock, anyone can create or join a team, and the site streams live broadcasts of the world’s biggest tournaments with grandmaster commentary, right inside the app. Your account, rating, games and studies sync between the app and the lichess.org website instantly.
The third difference is openness. Lichess is fully open source — the code for both the website and the app is public, the engine it bundles is the open-source Stockfish, and your games, studies and puzzles are yours to export and analyze anywhere. No lock-in, no data harvested for advertising, no account sold to a third party. For a chess player, that means the app you use to get better is built by people whose only incentive is making chess free for everyone.
Key Features Explained
1. Online Play at Every Speed
Play real-time or correspondence chess against millions of players worldwide, with matchmaking that finds opponents at your level in seconds. Bullet, blitz, rapid, classical and correspondence are all supported, and your rating is tracked separately per time control — just like on the website. If you prefer a calmer game, start a correspondence match and make a move whenever you like. Casual and rated games are both available, so you can experiment without risking your rating.
2. Unlimited Tactical Puzzles
Puzzles are the fastest way to improve at chess, and on Lichess they are completely unlimited. Thousands of puzzles are generated from real games, organized by tactical themes — pins, forks, discovered attacks, back-rank mates and dozens more — with difficulty ratings that adapt to your level. Race the clock in Puzzle Storm, grind daily Puzzle Streaks, or review your solutions with full engine lines. They even work offline, so your training never depends on a connection.
3. Free Stockfish Analysis
Every game you play can be analyzed with Stockfish, the strongest chess engine in the world, running locally on your phone at no cost. The app shows you where you went wrong, what the best moves were, and how your accuracy compares to your opponent’s — the same deep analysis other apps charge a monthly subscription for. Cloud analysis on Lichess’s servers is also available for deeper lines, and the interactive learn-from-your-mistakes mode turns your blunders into targeted practice positions.
4. Learn Chess From Zero
Version 0.29 added a proper learn-chess feature, so the app now teaches the game from the very basics: how each piece moves, what check and checkmate mean, and the fundamental tactics every beginner needs. Interactive lessons build on each other, and the practice mode lets you drill what you just learned. Combined with the coordinates trainer — a fun mini-game that teaches you to read the board like a strong player — it makes the app genuinely welcoming for complete beginners, not just a tool for people who already play.
5. Tournaments, Arenas and Variants
Arena tournaments start every few minutes around the clock — join one, play as many games as you can in the time window, and climb the live leaderboard. Beyond standard chess, Lichess supports beloved variants: Chess960 (Fischer Random), King of the Hill, Three-check, Antichess, Atomic, Horde, Racing Kings and Crazyhouse, each with its own rating pool. If you organize a club or a school team, you can run your own tournaments and simul events for free.
6. Studies and the Board Editor
Studies are Lichess’s collaborative superpower: interactive chapters where you can annotate games, build opening repertoires, and share training material with friends or students — all synced and free. The board editor lets you set up any position and analyze it or play it out against the engine. Coaches use studies to teach, clubs use them to prepare, and solo players use them to organize their opening files. It is the kind of tool that simply does not exist for free anywhere else.
7. Live Broadcasts and Lichess TV
Watch live broadcasts of major tournaments with grandmaster commentary, or tune into Lichess TV to watch strong players’ games as they happen. The app also includes a built-in chess clock for your over-the-board games with friends, dozens of board themes and piece sets, custom backgrounds, and full translation into 55 languages. Everything is designed to feel like a complete chess home, not a stripped-down companion app.
Honest Comparison
The obvious comparison is Chess.com’s app, and the trade-off is real. Chess.com has the bigger casual player base, slicker gamification, and a larger lesson library with video content — and its free tier is genuinely generous for beginners. But its best features sit behind a paywall: unlimited puzzles, deep engine analysis, game review and the lesson library all require Diamond. On Lichess, all of that is free, forever, with a stronger engine. If you play seriously or want to improve without a subscription, Lichess wins on value by a mile.
Against the old legacy Lichess app, there is no contest: the old app was retired in early 2026 and this rewrite is its replacement — faster, modern, and actively developed, with features like learn-chess and studies that the old app never had. Against Chessable or Aimchess, the comparison is different: those are paid training platforms with structured courses, and they can complement Lichess rather than replace it. The honest limitation of Lichess itself is polish in places — the app’s rating hovers around 3.7 stars, with some users noting bugs in puzzle solutions after updates — and its community skews competitive, which can intimidate absolute beginners. But for free chess, nothing else is close.
Download Lichess for Android
Grab Lichess from the developer’s official releases page below. The download is a universal APK (about 161 MB) that works on all modern phones — just make sure your device runs Android 12L or newer. Always download from the official source so you get the genuine signed build. If you sideload apps often, Obtainium can watch the releases page and notify you the moment a new version drops.
How to Install the APK
- Download the APK from the official releases page. Tap the Download Lichess APK (Official) button above and grab the latest release asset (the file named like 2901.apk — the universal build, about 161 MB). It works on arm64, arm and x86_64 devices.
- Allow installs from your browser. When you open the downloaded file, Android will ask you to permit Install unknown apps for your browser (Chrome, Firefox, or whichever you used). Grant it once — this is the normal, expected step for any APK installed outside the Play Store.
- Open the APK and install. Tap Install, then open Lichess and sign in with your free lichess.org account (or create one in seconds). Your rating, games and puzzles sync instantly between the app and the website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, completely. Lichess is run as a non-profit by lichess.org and funded by donations. There are no ads, no subscriptions, no premium tiers and no locked features — unlimited puzzles, full Stockfish analysis, lessons, studies and tournaments are free for every player, forever. The app is also fully open source under the GPL-3.0 license.
Partially. You can solve puzzles offline, play against the Stockfish engine offline, and use the board editor and coordinates trainer without a connection. Online play, tournaments, live broadcasts and syncing your account do require the internet. Your offline progress merges with your account once you reconnect.
No, you can play and solve puzzles as a guest. But creating a free account takes seconds and is strongly recommended: it tracks your ratings across time controls, saves your games and studies, syncs everything between the app and lichess.org, and lets you join tournaments and teams.
Version 0.29.1 requires Android 12L (API 32) or newer. The APK from the official GitHub releases page is a universal build of about 161 MB that covers arm64, arm and x86_64 devices. If your phone runs an older Android version, the Play Store build may not install — consider using the lichess.org mobile website instead, which works in any modern browser.
It depends on what you value. Lichess is better if you want everything free: unlimited puzzles, the strongest analysis engine, lessons and studies with no subscription. Chess.com has a bigger casual community and more polished gamification, but locks its best training features behind a paid plan. Many serious players use Lichess as their main app and it costs nothing to try both.
Yes — the GitHub releases page at github.com/lichess-org/mobile is the developer’s own official source, and it is the same build the Play Store distributes. Downloading from the official releases page is actually the most trustworthy option, since there is no third-party mirror involved. Just make sure the URL is the real lichess-org repository and allow Android’s one-time install unknown apps permission for your browser.
Final Verdict
Lichess is the rare app that is both the best free option and one of the best options, period. Five million games a day, unlimited puzzles, the world’s strongest analysis engine, real lessons, tournaments and studies — all free, all open source, all without ads. The app has a few rough edges and demands a modern phone, but if you play chess at all, there is no reason not to have it installed. Download it from the official releases page and do ten puzzles a day; your rating will thank you.