Lichess announces January 2026 Game of the Month

Lichess has announced its Game of the Month selection for January 2026. From among the many candidate games shared on the platform’s forum through the beginning of February, the team’s detailed review ultimately singled out a game by the player @stormy2018. In Lichess’s view, this game stood out not only for its tactical strikes, but also for its understanding of a very rapidly developing positional attack. Games of this kind show that attacking in chess is not limited to direct mating threats alone; it can also be built through space advantage, piece coordination, weak squares, and vulnerabilities around the opposing king.

What made the selected game even more instructive emerged in the analysis section. Turkish chess coach FM Nazmi Can Doğan, under his Lichess username @NaSil, took a deep look at the game and prepared extensive annotations. In Doğan’s analysis, key themes come to the fore, such as the positional foundations on which the attack was built, how the pieces were placed on their most effective squares, and how gaining tempo was converted into an attack. Topics such as control of the center, the use of open lines, disrupting the opponent’s piece coordination, and turning small advantages into attacking initiative are especially instructive for players looking to improve.

Another important aspect of this selection is that it reflects the active participation of the Lichess community. Each month, the platform asks users to share their best games under the pinned forum thread; the submitted games are then examined carefully and the most striking example of the month is chosen. While Lichess reminds users that submissions for February’s Game of the Month can be made until March 12, it also notes that variant games outside classical chess are not included in this main competition, although some official variant teams organize their own special “game of the month” events. This approach creates a broad space for sharing, both for players interested in standard chess and for those who enjoy different formats.

From the wider chess public’s perspective, selections like these do more than simply reward a beautiful game; they also present the community with model game patterns worth studying. Games featuring positional attacks, in particular, can provide concrete answers to the question “when should you attack?”—one of the areas club and tournament players struggle with most. Lichess’s January 2026 selection does exactly that: it highlights a highly instructive battle showing how small but lasting advantages can be transformed into an energetic attack at the right moment. While the platform invites users to share their thoughts on the game and the competition in the forum comments, it also recommends following the forums for the next announcement.