How to cheat at chess

Chess is hard, and you just had a great idea.

Instead of figuring out the moves yourself, why not just let a computer do it for you? That's what they're for: doing the hard work for us.

Unfortunately, a lot of people have the same idea every day, and it's ruining the game of chess. All the fun comes from the fact that we are playing against each other as imperfect human beings. Playing against a perfect machine is a very different experience, and that's not what people are looking for when starting a chess game on the Internet.

Please, do not cheat at chess. You get nothing out of it, and it makes chess as a whole a worse experience for everyone, yourself included. Lichess is a non-profit run mostly by volunteers, and when you cheat you waste a lot of their time.

Cheating is forbidden on Lichess. You must not get any external assistance in your games. You can't use a computer engine to evaluate a position or suggest a move. Doing so will only get your account banned.

Instead of cheating, why not try to learn how to win on your own merits? It will take longer but be much more rewarding.

We spend a lot of time and energy making sure games are played fairly on lichess.org. If you suspect someone is cheating, please report them with the Lichess report form, or click the report button on their profile page. We do review all reports.

Thank you and have great and imperfect chess games!