Dissect the World Champion on Lichess

Analyze Gukesh's losses with Stockfish to extract strategic chess lessons.

Introduction

30 Second Summary

Every chess player has patterns. Even the World Champion makes the same types of mistakes under pressure. If you could study those patterns and spot them in real time, you'd have a genuine edge the next time you face a similar position.

In this project, you will use Lichess's free professional-grade tools to analyze real games where World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju lost. You'll identify his documented weaknesses, translate engine evaluations into plain-language lessons, and build a permanent study you can share with anyone.

What You'll Build

You'll open your Lichess Studies page and see a structured breakdown of Gukesh's weaknesses with annotated positions from real games proving each point, ready to share with anyone via a link.

By the end of this project, you'll have:

A map of Gukesh's opening territory built from the Opening Explorer, showing win/draw/loss statistics for every move in his most-played lines.
A Stockfish-verified analysis of a real master game, pinpointing the exact move where things went wrong and why.
The ability to read an engine evaluation bar and translate raw numbers into strategic insights you can apply in your own games.
A permanent, shareable Lichess Study documenting what you learned with annotated positions and plain-language lessons.
Secret Mission: Find and analyze a second Gukesh loss on your own, targeting a different weakness than the one you studied in the main project.

Are there any prerequisites?

You only need basic knowledge of how chess pieces move, how each piece captures, and the goal of checkmate. No analysis or strategy experience is required.

You'll also need a web browser or a mobile device (iOS or Android). This project provides paths for all three platforms.

Before We Start

Before we dive in, let's lock in what you're about to build and why it matters. Every chess player studies games, but the real lessons hide in the losses, not the wins.

Set Up Lichess

Lichess is a completely free, open-source chess platform with professional-grade analysis tools. Every feature you need for this project is available without paying a cent or hitting any usage limits.

You need an account to access the Opening Explorer and save your analysis work. Without one, these tools are locked or limited (especially on mobile, where the Opening Explorer requires login for DDoS protection).

In this step, get ready to:

Create a Lichess account and sign in.
Navigate to the Analysis Board and confirm it works.
Enable the Opening Explorer with the Masters database.

Create your Lichess account

Choose your username carefully

Your Lichess username is permanent and cannot be changed later. Pick something family-friendly. Avoid starting with letter combinations like "GM" or "IM" because Lichess blocks these (they look like official chess titles).

Desktop browser

Open your web browser and go to lichess.org/signup.
Enter a username in the Username field.
Enter a password in the Password field.
Enter your email address in the Email field.
Agree to the Terms of Service and click Register.
Once registered, confirm you see your username in the top-right corner of the page.

iOS app

Open the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.
Search for Lichess and download it (free, 129.7 MB, requires iOS 15.6 or later).
Open the app and tap the profile/account icon to start registration.
Enter a username, password, and email address.
Agree to the Terms of Service and complete registration.
Confirm you see your username in the account menu.

Android app

Open Google Play on your Android device.
Search for Lichess and install it (free, requires Android 8.0 or later).
Open the app and tap the profile/account icon to start registration.
Enter a username, password, and email address.
Agree to the Terms of Service and complete registration.
Confirm you see your username in the account menu.

Why is Lichess free?

Lichess is a charity funded by donations. It will never charge for any features. Every tool you use in this project (Stockfish engine analysis, Opening Explorer, Studies) is available to all accounts with zero limits.

Can't complete registration?

If your username is rejected, it may contain a blocked letter combination (like "GM" or "IM") or be already taken. Try a different username.

If you're not receiving a verification email, check your spam folder.

Help me troubleshoot my Lichess account creation.

Navigate to the Analysis Board

The Analysis Board is your workspace for studying chess positions. It gives you an empty chessboard where you can play moves, load games, and run engine analysis.

Desktop browser

Click Tools in the top navigation menu.
Select Analysis board from the dropdown.
You'll see an empty chessboard with a moves panel on the right side.

iOS / Android app

Tap Tools from the bottom navigation or home screen.
Tap Board analysis.
You'll see a chessboard with move controls below it.

Test that the board is interactive: click (or tap) the pawn on e2 and drag it to e4.
The move should appear in the notation panel as 1. e4.

If you see the pawn move and the notation update, your Analysis Board is working.

Board not responding to clicks?

Make sure you're clicking directly on a piece and dragging it to a valid square. On desktop, you can also click the piece once, then click the destination square.

If the board still doesn't respond, try refreshing the page or restarting the app.

Help me get the Lichess Analysis Board working.

Enable the Opening Explorer

The Opening Explorer shows you real statistics from millions of master games. For every position on the board, it tells you which moves have been played, how often, and with what results.

Desktop browser

Below the moves list on the Analysis Board, look for tabs or icons. Click the book icon or the Opening explorer tab.
A table of moves should appear, showing move names, number of games, and win/draw/loss percentages.
Check the database selector at the top of the explorer panel. Make sure it says Masters (not "Lichess" or "Player"). The Masters database is usually the default.

iOS / Android app

In the analysis board, look for the book icon near the top-right of the screen (next to the settings cog).
Tap it to switch to the Opening Explorer tab.
You should see a list of moves with win/draw/loss percentages.
If there are database tabs (Masters, Lichess, Player), make sure Masters is selected.

What do you expect to see in the explorer after the 1. e4 move you played earlier? Think about it before you look.

You should see Black's possible responses listed with statistics. The most popular response (e5) will show the highest game count, along with percentage bars showing how often White won, the game drew, or Black won.

What is the Masters database?

The Masters database contains over-the-board tournament games played by titled players (2200+ FIDE rating) since 1952. This is real data from serious competition, not casual online games.

Because these are high-stakes games between strong players, the moves in this database tend to be the strongest and most theoretically sound options available.

Opening Explorer showing no data?

Make sure you are logged into your Lichess account. On mobile, the Opening Explorer requires login to function (this is a DDoS protection measure).

If you see the explorer panel but it's empty, check that Masters is selected as the database. The "Player" tab will be empty because you have no games yet.

Help me get the Lichess Opening Explorer working.

Your workspace is ready. You have a Lichess account, an interactive Analysis Board, and the Opening Explorer pulling from millions of master games. Next up, you'll use these tools to map out Gukesh's opening territory and see where he plays most often.

Explore Gukesh's Opening Territory

Your Lichess account is set up and your analysis tools are ready. Now it's time to use them.

Before analyzing specific games, you need to see the landscape. The Opening Explorer shows you which positions Gukesh plays into most often, with real statistics from thousands of master games. This is your map of his territory.

In this step, get ready to:

Navigate the Masters database starting with 1.e4 and see how Black responds.
Drill into the Ruy Lopez (Gukesh's favorite as White) and observe win/draw/loss statistics.
Compare with the Nimzo-Indian Defense to understand why Gukesh favors complex, tactical positions.

Navigate the Masters database starting with 1.e4

The Masters database contains over-the-board games from titled players since 1952. Every move you play on the board filters this database to show what happened next in real tournament games.

Return to your Analysis Board with the Opening Explorer visible.
Confirm the database is set to Masters (not Lichess). On desktop, use the dropdown at the top of the explorer panel. On mobile, tap the settings or filter icon in the explorer to select the Masters database.
Click or tap the pawn on e2 and move it to e4 (or click e4 in the explorer's move list).

The explorer updates immediately to show Black's responses with statistics. You're looking at real data: how many thousands of master games reached this position and what percentage White won, drew, or lost.

Notice that e5 is the most popular response. Click or tap it to play 1...e5 on the board.

What am I seeing in the explorer?

Each row in the explorer shows a move, the number of games where it was played, and a colored bar representing the win/draw/loss split. White bars mean White won, grey means a draw, and black means Black won.

The numbers come from a curated database of 2 million master games. This is real historical data, not computer-generated theory.

Drill into the Ruy Lopez

Now you'll play through one of Gukesh's most-used openings as White. The Ruy Lopez has been one of the most analyzed openings in chess history, and Gukesh relies on it regularly in top-level play.

After 1.e4 e5, play 2.Nf3 (move your knight from g1 to f3).
The explorer shows Black's responses. Click Nc6 to play 2...Nc6.
Now play 3.Bb5 (move your bishop from f1 to b5).

You've reached the Ruy Lopez. Look at the statistics panel and note the total number of games, White's win percentage, and the draw rate.

Scroll down below the moves table. You'll see a list of notable games played from this position. These are real master games you can click into.
Browse the games list and look for names you recognize. These are some of the strongest players in history battling over the same position you're looking at right now.

Why does Gukesh play this opening?

Gukesh plays 1.e4 as his primary weapon and is comfortable in the Ruy Lopez, Italian Game, and Scotch Game. He also plays 1.d4. This flexibility means opponents can never predict exactly what's coming.

Experts rate his calculation ability at 98 out of 100. He chooses openings that lead to complex, tactical positions where that calculation edge is decisive.

Compare with a different opening

You've seen Gukesh's territory as White. Now you'll look at one of his key weapons as Black to build intuition about how different openings produce different types of games.

Use the back button or undo arrows to return to the starting position (all moves removed from the board).
Play 1.d4 (move the queen's pawn from d2 to d4).
Notice how the statistics differ from 1.e4. The win rates and draw rates shift because these openings lead to fundamentally different types of positions.

Now drill into the Nimzo-Indian Defense by playing these moves in order:
After 1.d4, click Nf6 for Black's response.
Play 2.c4 for White.
Click e6 for Black.
Play 3.Nc3 for White.
Click Bb4 for Black.

You've reached the Nimzo-Indian Defense, one of Gukesh's key openings as Black against 1.d4. Compare the win rates here with what you saw in the Ruy Lopez.

What does this comparison tell you?

Different openings lead to different types of games. The Ruy Lopez tends toward complex middlegame battles with long-term strategic plans. The Nimzo-Indian gives Black immediate pressure against White's center.

Gukesh chooses openings on both sides that create imbalance and complexity. He thrives in chaotic positions where his extraordinary calculation gives him an edge over opponents who rely more on positional intuition.

Before you move on, think about this: based on what you've seen in the statistics, do you think Gukesh's openings tend to produce more decisive results (wins and losses) or more draws?

Look at the win/loss bars for both the Ruy Lopez and the Nimzo-Indian. You should see specific master games listed below the moves table in both positions. The presence of decisive games (not just draws) confirms that these openings create the fighting chances Gukesh is looking for.

Not seeing games listed below the moves?

Make sure you've drilled at least 3 moves deep (both sides). The games list appears once you've narrowed the position enough for individual games to display.

Confirm the database dropdown says Masters. The Lichess database shows different (much larger) data, which groups games differently.

On mobile, you may need to scroll down past the moves table to see the games list.

Why can't I see any games in the Opening Explorer?

You've mapped Gukesh's opening territory on both sides of the board. You know where he likes to fight. In the next step, you'll load a game where that fight went wrong for him and use the most powerful free chess engine in the world to find out exactly why.

Analyze a Gukesh Loss with Stockfish

You've mapped Gukesh's opening territory. You know which positions he gravitates toward and what the statistics say about his favorite lines.

Statistics show the landscape, but they don't reveal weaknesses. To find those, you need to study the battles he actually lost. In this step, you'll load a real master game into the analysis board and unleash Stockfish on it. Stockfish is the most powerful free chess engine in the world, and it will pinpoint the exact move where the position turned.

In this step, get ready to:

Find and load a decisive master game from the Opening Explorer.
Enable Stockfish engine analysis and read the evaluation bar.
Identify the critical moment where the biggest evaluation swing happened.

Find a Gukesh game through the Opening Explorer

The Opening Explorer doesn't just show statistics. Below the moves table, it lists actual master games played from the current position. You'll drill into a familiar opening line and pick a decisive game to analyze.

Return to the Analysis Board with the Opening Explorer open.
Make sure the database dropdown is set to Masters (not "Lichess").
Enter the Ruy Lopez by playing the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5. You explored this line in the previous step.
Continue playing a few more common moves from the explorer's move list (click the most popular response at each turn) to narrow down the number of games.

Once you're 5-6 moves deep, look below the moves table. You'll see a list labeled Top Games or a list of notable games with player names, dates, and results.

Browse the games list for a decisive result. Look for 0-1 (Black won) or 1-0 (White won). A decisive game means someone made a mistake big enough to lose.
Click or tap on a decisive game to load it into the analysis board.

All the moves appear in the notation panel on the right (desktop) or below the board (mobile). You now have a complete master game ready to analyze.

What if I can't find a specific Gukesh game?

The Masters database contains over 2 million games from titled players since 1952. Gukesh's games from major events are included, but finding one by name can take some browsing.

If you don't spot a Gukesh game quickly, pick any decisive master game from the list. The analysis skills you're learning apply to any game. The important thing is that the result is decisive (not a draw), so there's a clear mistake to find.

Not seeing a games list below the moves?

Make sure you've played at least 3-4 moves into the opening. The games list only appears when the position has been reached in recorded master games.

On mobile, you may need to scroll down below the moves table to find the games list. On desktop, it appears directly below the statistics.

If the list shows only draws, try a slightly different move order or go one move deeper where the position becomes sharper.

Still stuck? Help me find a decisive game in the Opening Explorer

Turn on Stockfish engine analysis

You have a complete game loaded. Now you need a way to evaluate every position objectively. Stockfish is a chess engine that calculates millions of positions per second and tells you exactly who is winning at any point in the game.

Desktop browser: Look for the toggle or button with a computer/engine icon above or beside the notation panel. Click it to enable local Stockfish analysis.
iOS/Android app: Look for the engine toggle icon at the top of the analysis screen. Tap it to enable Stockfish.

An evaluation bar appears on the left side of the board. The white section represents White's advantage and the black section represents Black's advantage. The bigger one side is, the more that player is winning.

What does the evaluation number mean?

The engine displays a number like +0.5 or -1.2. Positive means White is ahead. Negative means Black is ahead. The number roughly corresponds to how many pawns of advantage one side has.

A value of +0.3 is a tiny edge. A value of +2.0 means one side is up about the equivalent of two pawns. Anything above +3.0 is usually a winning advantage.

Now step through the game move by move.

Use the forward arrow button to advance one move at a time.
Watch the evaluation bar shift as you step through each move.
Look for the biggest swing. This is where the bar jumps dramatically from one side to the other (or from roughly equal to heavily favoring one side).

You should see the bar stay relatively stable for most of the game, then make one or two sudden jumps. The biggest jump is the critical moment where someone made a serious error.

Don't see an evaluation bar?

Make sure you toggled the engine ON, not off. The icon should appear highlighted or active when Stockfish is running.

On desktop, look for a small toggle switch or a button that says Stockfish near the top of the analysis panel. On mobile, the engine icon is typically near the top-right of the screen.

If the bar appears but shows no number, give it a few seconds to calculate. Stockfish needs a moment to evaluate the position, especially on mobile devices.

Need more help? Help me enable Stockfish analysis on Lichess

Study the critical moment

You've found the move where the evaluation swung the most. This is the critical moment of the game. Now you'll examine what happened at that exact position.

Stop at the position immediately before the big evaluation swing. This is the moment right before the mistake.
Look at the board. Notice which pieces are active, which are stuck, and where each king sits.
Now advance one move (the actual move played). Watch the evaluation bar jump.

The engine shows you an alternative. Look for arrows drawn on the board or a suggested line of moves in the analysis panel below the evaluation. This is what Stockfish thinks should have been played instead.

Note the move that was actually played (the one that caused the swing).
Note the engine's preferred move (shown as arrows on the board or as the first move in the engine's suggested line).
Note approximately how much the evaluation changed (for example, from +0.3 to -1.5 is a swing of nearly 2 pawns).

What counts as a significant swing?

A swing of 1.0 or more in a single move is a serious mistake at the master level. A swing of 2.0+ is a blunder that likely decides the game. Even a swing of 0.5 can be meaningful between top players where positions are usually razor-thin.

If your game has multiple swings, focus on the single biggest one. That's where the game was truly decided.

Before you move on, take a moment. You now have three concrete facts: what was played, what should have been played, and how much it mattered.

But here's the gap you might be feeling. You can see the bar moved. You can read the numbers. But can you explain WHY that move was bad in plain English? Why did the engine prefer a different move? What strategic principle was violated?

If you're not sure how to answer those questions yet, that's exactly where you should be. You have the data. The next step teaches you how to read it like a human.

The evaluation barely changes throughout the game?

Some master games are very evenly played until a single sharp moment near the end. Try stepping through the final 10 moves more carefully. Time trouble mistakes often happen in the last few moves before the time control.

If the game truly has no big swing (rare in decisive games), go back to the Opening Explorer and pick a different decisive game. Games that end in many moves tend to have clearer turning points than short tactical knockouts.

Want help interpreting the evaluation? Help me understand why the evaluation isn't changing much in my game

You've found the exact moment a master-level game was decided. You have the numbers, the moves, and the engine's verdict. Next, you'll learn to translate those raw evaluations into plain-language strategic insights that you can actually use in your own games.

Read the Position Like a Human

You found the critical moment in Step 3. The evaluation bar swung, and you know which move caused it. But right now all you have is a number.

Numbers without context don't teach you chess. To extract a real lesson from this position, you need to ask the right questions about what you see on the board. This is how you turn engine output into understanding you can use in your own games.

In this step, get ready to:

Ask five diagnostic questions about the critical position.
Compare your human reading with the engine's suggested line.
Formulate one plain-language strategic principle from the game.

Ask five diagnostic questions

The engine told you what went wrong. Now you need to figure out why in human terms. Before looking at the engine's recommended line, you'll examine the critical position with your own eyes.

Return to the critical position you identified in Step 3. Use the back/forward arrows to navigate to the exact move where the evaluation bar swung most dramatically.
Look at the board and answer each of these five questions. Write your answers down on paper or in a notes app:

Which king looks less safe? Is one king more exposed or missing defensive pieces nearby?
Are any pieces "stuck"? Look for pieces with no good squares to move to.
Who controls the center? Count which side has more influence over the d4, d5, e4, and e5 squares.
Are there any weak pawns? Look for pawns that are undefended, doubled (stacked on the same file), or isolated (no friendly pawns on adjacent files).
Is one side more developed? Check which side has more pieces actively placed and working together.

Why answer these before checking the engine?

These five questions train your pattern recognition. If you look at the engine answer first, you'll just memorize the solution without building the skill to spot problems on your own.

Even as a beginner, you can visually spot an awkwardly placed piece, an exposed king, or one side with more space. The goal is not perfection. The goal is forming your own hypothesis before you test it against the engine.

You should now have at least one or two observations written down. Maybe you noticed a knight sitting on the edge of the board, or a king missing its pawn shield.

Compare your reading with the engine

You have a hypothesis about what's wrong in the position. Now it's time to test it against Stockfish's analysis.

Look at the engine's suggested best move. On desktop, the engine's top recommendation appears as an arrow on the board or as the first line in the analysis panel below the moves. On mobile, look for the arrow overlay or the engine line at the top of the screen.
Toggle through the engine's best line by clicking or tapping the suggested moves in sequence. This plays out what the engine thinks should happen from this position. Watch how the pieces interact over the next 3 to 5 moves.

Now compare: does the engine's plan target the same weakness you identified?

If you spotted an exposed king, check whether the engine's line attacks that king.
If you noticed a stuck piece, check whether the engine exploits that piece's lack of mobility.
If you identified weak pawns, check whether the engine targets those pawns.

What if my reading was completely wrong?

That's completely normal and still valuable. If the engine targets something you didn't notice, you've discovered a blind spot in your chess vision. Note what the engine saw that you missed. Next time you analyze a position, add that pattern to your mental checklist.

Often, the engine's plan will align with at least one of your observations. The engine just calculates further and more precisely than you can. The strategic instinct is the same.

Translate findings into a strategic principle

You now know what went wrong and why the engine's move was better. The final step is turning this into a portable lesson you can carry into your own games and into your study of Gukesh.

Formulate one clear, plain-language sentence that captures the lesson from this game. Here are examples of well-formed strategic principles:

"When you have a space advantage, don't trade pieces. Keep the pressure."
"A knight on the edge of the board has fewer options. Centralize early."
"If your opponent is in time trouble, keep the position complex."

What makes a good strategic principle?

A good principle describes what to DO (or avoid), not just what happened. "White's knight was bad" is an observation. "Don't put pieces on squares where they have no future" is a principle you can act on.

Keep it in plain language. No engine numbers. If you can explain it to a friend who plays casual chess, it's the right level.

Now connect your finding to Gukesh's documented profile. Experts have assessed his abilities as follows:

Calculation: 98/100. World-class tactical vision. Avoid sharp tactical complications when playing against him.
Strategy: 85/100 per Carlsen. Still developing relative to his calculation. Long positional grinds can trouble him.
Time management: 85/100. GM Sasikiran notes he "often gets into time trouble" from over-calculating in chaotic positions.
Endgames: 72/100 per Carlsen. Converting advantages in technical endgames is a relative weak spot.
Opening prep: 68/100 per Carlsen. Flexible (plays both 1.e4 and 1.d4) but not as deeply prepared as some rivals.

Ask yourself: does the mistake in the game you analyzed fit one of these documented patterns? If the error was positional rather than tactical, that aligns with the strategy gap. If it happened in a complex position with time pressure, that aligns with the time management tendency.
Write a second sentence connecting your principle to the profile. For example: "This fits Gukesh's time management pattern. Creating chaos and playing quickly is a documented strategy against him."

Where do these ratings come from?

These ratings come from composite expert assessments. David Howell created a FIFA-style scoring system. Carlsen commented on the Joe Rogan podcast. GM Sasikiran provided pre-match analysis for the 2026 World Championship defense. The numbers are consistent across independent sources.

Before you move on, test your work. Can you describe in one plain-language sentence why the critical move was a mistake, without referencing any engine numbers?

If your sentence sounds like "White's knight was stuck on the edge with no good squares" rather than "the eval went from +0.3 to -1.2", you've succeeded. You've translated raw computation into chess understanding.

Struggling to form a principle?

If everything feels vague, go back to your five diagnostic answers. Pick the strongest one (the observation you're most confident about) and turn it into an "always do X" or "never do Y" statement. Even a simple principle like "don't leave pieces undefended" counts.

Help me turn my position observations into a chess principle.

You've done something powerful. You took raw engine data, asked the right questions, and produced a lesson that makes sense in human language. Next up, you'll save this work permanently in a Lichess Study so it's always available when you need it.

Create Your Anti-Gukesh Strategy Study

You've done the hard work. You found the critical moment in a master game, asked the right diagnostic questions, and formulated a strategic principle in plain language. But analysis without documentation is forgotten within days.

Lichess Studies let you save annotated positions permanently, organize findings into chapters, and share them with anyone via a link. This is how serious chess players build opening preparation files. In this step, you'll turn your analysis into a permanent, structured dossier.

In this step, get ready to:

Create a new Lichess Study and set its visibility.
Add and annotate the critical position from your analyzed game.
Build a Gukesh Profile chapter documenting his strengths and weaknesses.

Create a new Lichess Study

A Lichess Study is like a chess notebook that lives in the cloud. You can organize analysis into chapters, add text comments to any position, and share the whole thing with a single link.

Why use a Study instead of just saving the game?

A saved game is just a sequence of moves. A Study lets you annotate specific positions with your own insights, add branching variations ("what if they played this instead?"), and organize multiple games into chapters around a theme. It is the difference between bookmarking a page and writing notes in the margin.

Desktop browser: Click Learn in the top menu bar.
Select Study from the dropdown.
Click the + Create or New study button.
iOS/Android app: Navigate to Studies from the home screen or tools menu.
Tap the + button to create a new study.

A dialog will appear asking you to configure the new study.

Enter Gukesh Weaknesses as the study name.
Set the visibility to Unlisted (only people with the link can see it).
Click Start or Create to confirm.

You now have an empty study with one default chapter. This is your chess notebook, ready to fill with analysis.

Don't see the Create button?

Make sure you're signed in to your Lichess account. Studies require authentication. Check that your username appears in the top-right corner (desktop) or the account menu (mobile app).

Help me find the Studies section in Lichess.

Add the critical position and annotate it

Your study needs the critical position from the game you analyzed in the previous steps. You'll import it, add your strategic lesson as a comment, and record the engine's best move as an alternative line.

Switch back to the Analysis Board where your game is still loaded.
Navigate to the critical position you identified (the move where the evaluation swung dramatically).
Copy the FEN string for this position. On desktop, look for a FEN field or Share button below the board. On mobile, tap the share/export icon and select the FEN option.

What is a FEN?

A FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) is a single line of text that describes every piece's exact position on the board. It lets you copy a position from one place and paste it into another without replaying all the moves.

Return to your Gukesh Weaknesses study.
In the study's board editor, paste the FEN to set up the critical position. On desktop, look for a Set position or Editor button, then paste the FEN string. On mobile, use the board editor option and paste.

You should now see the exact board position where the game turned. The same pieces, the same tension, the same problem.

Add a text comment to this position. On desktop, click the comment icon (speech bubble) next to the move in the notation panel. On mobile, tap the move and select the comment option.
Type the strategic lesson you formulated in Step 4. For example: "Knight stuck on a3 with no good squares. Principle: centralize knights early and avoid rim squares in the middlegame."
Now add the engine's best move as a variation. Play the move that Stockfish recommended on the board. It appears as a branching line in the notation.
Add a comment on this variation move explaining why it was better (e.g., "Engine prefers Nd5, centralizing the knight and attacking both c7 and e7 simultaneously.").

Your first chapter now contains a real annotated position with both your human insight and the engine's recommendation documented side by side.

Use arrows and highlights

Right-click (desktop) or long-press (mobile) on squares to draw arrows and highlight them in your study. Green arrows show good moves. Red arrows show threats. These visual markers make your annotations much easier to read when you come back later.

Can't find the comment button?

Make sure you're in your study (not the regular analysis board). The study has a dedicated comment icon next to each move in the notation panel. If you don't see it, try clicking directly on the move text first.

Help me add comments to my Lichess Study.

Add a Gukesh Profile chapter

Your first chapter documents one specific game. Now you need a reference chapter that summarizes everything experts have said about Gukesh's playing style. Every time you analyze another game, you can check whether the loss fits one of these documented patterns.

In your study, add a new chapter. On desktop, click + Add chapter at the bottom of the chapter list. On mobile, tap the chapter menu icon and select New chapter.
Name this chapter Gukesh Profile.
Click the comment icon on the starting position (move 1 or the initial board) to add a text comment with Gukesh's profile notes.

Type the following ratings sourced from expert assessments (David Howell, Carlsen, GM Sasikiran) into the comment:

Calculation: 98/100 (world-class, avoid tactical complications against him).
Strategy: 85/100 (still developing, long positional grinds can trouble him).
Time Management: 85/100 (he gets into time trouble when positions are chaotic).
Endgames: 72/100 per Carlsen (conversion of advantages is a relative weak spot).
Opening Prep: 68/100 per Carlsen (plays both 1.e4 and 1.d4, flexible but not deeply booked).

Why document these numbers?

This chapter serves as your hypothesis sheet. When you analyze another Gukesh loss, you can check whether it fits one of these patterns. A time-trouble blunder in a complex position? That matches the 85/100 rating. A missed endgame conversion? That matches the 72/100. Over time, each new game either confirms or challenges these numbers.

Add a final note connecting these ratings to your analyzed game. For example: "Game 1 loss pattern: [your finding]. This maps to the Strategy/Endgame/Time Management weakness."
Confirm your study now shows two chapters in the chapter list on the left panel (desktop) or in the chapter navigation (mobile).

Your study is automatically saved. Every edit you make is stored on Lichess's servers immediately.

Chapter not appearing in the list?

Try refreshing the page (desktop) or closing and reopening the study (mobile). If you still only see one chapter, make sure you clicked the create/confirm button after naming the new chapter. Simply typing the name is not enough.

Help me add a second chapter to my Lichess Study.

Before you check, predict: when you navigate to your Studies page, how many chapters should you see listed under your Gukesh Weaknesses study?

Desktop browser: Click Learn in the top menu, then Study. You can also go directly to lichess.org/study in your browser.
iOS/Android app: Navigate to the Studies section from the home screen or tools menu.
Find your Gukesh Weaknesses study in the list and open it.

You should see your study with two chapters. Chapter 1 has the annotated critical position with your comment and the engine's best move as a branching variation. Chapter 2 (Gukesh Profile) has the documented weakness ratings. You've built a permanent, shareable chess intelligence dossier.

What can you do with this study now?

Anyone with the link can view your analysis. You can share it with a chess partner, a coach, or a study group. You can also keep adding chapters as you analyze more games. The methodology you learned (find the swing, ask diagnostic questions, formulate a principle) works for any player's games.

Secret mission

Analyze a Second Loss Targeting a Different Weakness

One game proves a point. Two games prove a pattern. Can you independently find, analyze, and document a second Gukesh loss that reveals a completely different type of weakness than the one you already studied?

Clean Up Your Resources

All resources in this project are permanently free. Lichess is a nonprofit charity funded by donations and will never charge for any features. There is nothing here that will cost you money if you leave it running.

Resources you used:

Lichess account (free, no ongoing cost).
Lichess Study (free, stored permanently on Lichess servers).

Keep everything running

No action needed. Choose this if you plan to keep studying chess, analyzing more games, or adding to your Gukesh Weaknesses study.

Your Lichess account stays active indefinitely with no cost.
Your study is saved permanently and accessible anytime at lichess.org/study.
You can share your study with others using the share link inside the study settings.

Pause - I'll come back to this later

Since everything on Lichess is free, pausing just means logging out until you're ready to return.

Log out of Lichess in your browser or the mobile app.
Your account and all studies remain exactly as you left them whenever you log back in.
There is no time limit on inactivity. Lichess does not delete inactive accounts.

Delete - I don't want to use this again

Remove your study and close your account if you no longer want them.

To delete your study: open the study, click the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) next to the Members tab, scroll to the bottom, and click the red Delete study button.
To close your account: go to lichess.org/account/close in your browser. Enter your password and confirm. Your account will be closed and your profile removed.
Account closure can be reversed once (via lichess.org/account/reopen). If you close a second time, it becomes permanent.

Nice Work!

You just built a personal chess intelligence dossier on the youngest World Champion in history, using the same professional-grade tools that grandmasters use to prepare for tournaments.

You've learned how to:

Used the Opening Explorer's Masters database to map a World Champion's opening repertoire with real win/draw/loss statistics from thousands of games.
Ran Stockfish engine analysis on a master game, found the exact move where the position turned, and translated raw engine evaluations into plain-language strategic principles you can apply in your own games.
Built a permanent, shareable Lichess Study documenting Gukesh's weaknesses with annotated positions, engine variations, and a profile chapter connecting documented patterns.
Secret Mission: Independently found, analyzed, and documented a second game showing a different weakness pattern, proving the analysis methodology works on any game you choose.

Ready to quiz yourself?