Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Lichess VS OGS

Compare Lichess VS OGS and see what are their differences

Lichess logo Lichess

The complete chess experience, play and compete in tournaments with friends others around the world.

OGS logo OGS

Play go/weiqi/baduk online
  • Lichess Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-04
  • OGS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-03

Lichess features and specs

  • Free to Use
    Lichess is completely free to use, with no hidden fees or subscription models required to access its features.
  • Open Source
    The platform is open-source, allowing anyone to contribute to its development or customize it according to their needs.
  • Ad-Free
    Lichess does not run advertisements, providing a cleaner and more enjoyable user experience.
  • Variants
    Offers a wide range of chess variants like Crazyhouse, Chess960, and Atomic, catering to diverse player interests.
  • Community Features
    Features strong community elements such as forums, tournaments, and team play, enhancing social interaction.
  • Analysis Tools
    Provides powerful game analysis tools, including Stockfish integration, to help players improve their skills.
  • Accessibility
    The platform has a clean and intuitive interface that is accessible to both beginners and experienced players.
  • Mobile Apps
    Lichess offers mobile applications for both iOS and Android, allowing users to play and learn chess on the go.

Possible disadvantages of Lichess

  • No Official Recognition
    Lichess is not officially recognized by the major chess organizations, which might be a limitation for professional players.
  • Lesser User Base Compared to Competitors
    Although it has a strong community, its user base is smaller when compared to competitors like Chess.com.
  • Limited Social Features
    Lacks some of the advanced social features found on other platforms, such as comprehensive user profiles and social media integration.
  • Server Issues
    Occasionally faces server reliability issues during peak times, which can disrupt gameplay.
  • Learning Resources
    Although there are learning resources available, they are not as extensive or structured as those found on some other platforms.

OGS features and specs

  • User Friendly Interface
    OGS features a clean and intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to navigate and play games. The platform's layout is straightforward, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced players.
  • Strong Community
    The platform hosts a vibrant community where players can engage with each other through forums and chat. This social aspect enhances the overall user experience and provides opportunities for learning and improvement.
  • Variety of Game Modes
    OGS offers multiple game options, including live, correspondence, and tournament modes, which cater to different player preferences and schedules.
  • Cross-Platform Access
    Players can access OGS via web and mobile platforms, providing the flexibility to play Go from different devices and locations.
  • Comprehensive Learning Resources
    OGS provides a range of educational resources, including puzzles and tutorials, which are beneficial for players looking to learn or improve their skills.

Possible disadvantages of OGS

  • Server Reliability
    Some users report occasional server issues, such as downtime or lag, which can disrupt gameplay and the overall experience on the platform.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    While OGS is suitable for beginners and intermediate players, some advanced users may find the lack of cutting-edge features or analytical tools less appealing.
  • Rating System Concerns
    There are occasional concerns regarding the accuracy and fairness of the rating and ranking system, which may not always reflect a player’s skill level accurately.
  • Learning Curve for New Users
    Despite its user-friendly interface, new users unfamiliar with online Go platforms might experience a slight learning curve when first using OGS.
  • Limited Customization Options
    Some players might find the customization options for games or profiles limited compared to other platforms, impacting personalization preferences.

Analysis of Lichess

Overall verdict

  • Lichess.org is an excellent platform for playing, learning, and improving in chess. It provides a high-quality, ad-free experience that is accessible to everyone, making it a favorite among many chess players worldwide.

Why this product is good

  • Lichess.org is considered good because it offers a wide range of features for chess enthusiasts of all levels, including online play, puzzles, tournaments, studies, and more. It is completely free, open source, and does not contain ads. The platform supports various time controls and chess variants, which makes it versatile for different preferences. It also has a strong community and active development, ensuring continuous improvements and new features.

Recommended for

  • Beginners looking to learn and improve their chess skills
  • Casual players interested in playing games at their convenience
  • Advanced players seeking competitive matches and analysis tools
  • Chess enthusiasts who enjoy exploring different variants of chess
  • Coaches and teachers who want resources for instructing students

Lichess videos

Review of LiChess, Chess.com, ChessClub, ICC, Playchess, chesscube Reviewed!

More videos:

  • Review - Learning from your mistakes - Lichess has best online chess features and it is free!
  • Review - Introduction to Game Analysis on Lichess

OGS videos

How to use the AI review on OGS?

More videos:

  • Review - OGS AI - Back to Basic Baduk

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Lichess and OGS)
Chess
97 97%
3% 3
Games
96 96%
4% 4
Online Games
96 96%
4% 4
Marketing Platform
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Lichess and OGS

Lichess Reviews

Chess.com vs Lichess.org
Chess.com and Lichess.org - just “Lichess” from here on; pronounced as lee-chess - are the two most popular chess servers on the internet.

OGS Reviews

We have no reviews of OGS yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Lichess should be more popular than OGS. It has been mentiond 922 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Lichess mentions (922)

  • Show HN: Chess bot based on the transformer architecture
    Hi HN! I build this project to explore an idea I got in mind for a long time : Is transformer a suitable architecture for a chess bot? I built a small model (11M parameters) and trained it on human games (Elite Lichess DB). Model alone is performing around 1500 elo, but I built an harness using Monte Carlos Tree Search (MCTS) using my model heuristics to improve the model to ~2100 elo (evaluated against... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Lichess and Take Take Take Sign Cooperation Agreement
    Lichess is incredibly well optimized [0] (and an amazing public service). I'm sure that this is very cost effective for TTT, so a win-win. [0] https://lichess.org/@/revoof/blog/optimizing-the-tablebase-server/MetV0ZQd. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Take Take Take and Lichess.org Announce Play Zone Partnership
    Https://lichess.org/@/Lichess/blog/lichess-and-take-take-take-sign-cooperation-agreement/DZS0S0Dy. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Any chess position with 8 pieces on board and one pair of pawns has been solved
    The actual blogpost: https://lichess.org/@/Lichess/blog/op1-partial-8-piece-tablebase-available/1ptPBDpC On a related note, anyone knows a Mastodon proxy that doesn't require JS and I can just pipe links through? - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • How to store a chess position in 26 bytes using bit-level magic
    Lichess uses a scheme which is probably more efficient on average, described on revoof's blog[0]. Basically, it's a variable length scheme where the first 64 bits encode square occupancies, followed by piece codes (including castling, side to move, and ep with some trickery), followed by half-move clocks if necessary. 0:... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
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OGS mentions (140)

  • Learn to Play Go
    Http://online-go.com has an interesting anti-stalling feature: If you pass several times it checks with KataGo. If KataGo is 99% sure you will win, either player can click a button to accept that result and end the game. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Learn to Play Go
    Https://online-go.com/ have like 21.000 active games now... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • What Is Complexity in Chess?
    Some things that may be of interest: A site that has used neural nets to classify go moves that good players would make that weaker players (of varying ranks) would not: https://neuralnetgoproblems.com/ (code available on github) https://ai-sensei.com/challenge (behind login wall, and in future possibly a pay all) is a similar idea, but the difficulty of evaluating the position is determined by how users of the... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Byoyomi Explained (1997)
    I like Fisher time for long multi month games on https://online-go.com/ Basically it means that I always have one spare week to think or do something else and never run out of time. For 2 days live tournaments, one minute Fisher time means that a game could last plus thatn 5 hours (300 moves -> 300 minutes) and that would make the tournament fail to complete. With a short base time plus 30 seconds Fisher time we... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • After AI beat them, professional Go players got better and more creative
    OGS is the closest thing I’ve found to lichess but it’s quite good! https://online-go.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Lichess and OGS, you can also consider the following products

Chess.com - Play chess on Chess.com

Chess Tempo Database - Chess Tempo Database gives you a library of more than 2 million searchable chess games.

KaTrain - Improve your go by training with KataGo.

itch.io - An online game marketplace and community.

Go Magic - Everything you need to up your game

DecodeChess - AI chess tutor and analysis