For a student and parent together

A safe start on Lichess.

This simple guide shows a young chess student and a parent or guardian how to create a Lichess account, switch on Kid Mode, and keep personal information private.

A young student should not create the account alone. Sit together and complete each step as a team.

Start the steps ↓ Parent checklist

✓ Parent approved 🛡 Kid Mode on

Safe chess account Ready

Play, learn, and stay safe.

First: get adult permission.

Lichess says a user must be at least 15 and old enough to accept an online contract where they live. A younger user needs authorization from a parent or legal guardian.

Student: do not register secretly or pretend to be older.

Seven easy steps

Create the account together.

The blue box tells the student what to do. The pink box tells the parent or guardian what to check.

Choose a safe username.

A username is public. Other players will see it.

Student

Pick a friendly chess nickname.
Do not use your full real name.
Do not add your school, birthday, or exact city.

Parent or guardian

Check that the name is appropriate and does not reveal who the student is. Lichess warns that usernames cannot simply be changed later.

Prepare a strong password and email.

Use account details the family can safely recover.

Student

Use a password you do not use for school or games.
Do not share it with classmates or online players.
Your chess teacher does not need your password.

Parent or guardian

Use an email address you can access for account recovery. Keep the password in a secure family password manager or another safe place.

Open the official signup page.

Check the address before typing any account information.

Student

Look at the browser address. It must begin with https://lichess.org/.

Parent or guardian

Review the current Terms of Service and Privacy Policy before authorizing the account.

Open official Lichess signup ↗

Complete the form together.

The current Lichess form asks for a username, password, and email.

Student

Type the username you both approved.
Create the password with your adult.
Read the promises before pressing Register.

Parent or guardian

Confirm the email is correct.
Review the fair-play and respectful-behavior promises.
Complete any device or anti-bot check Lichess displays.

Turn on Kid Mode immediately.

Kid Mode adds child-protection restrictions, including limits on public communication features.

Student

Stay signed in and ask your parent or guardian to open the Kid Mode page.

Parent or guardian

Open Kid Mode, enter the account password if requested, and enable it. Keep Kid Mode on while the student uses the account.

Open Kid Mode settings ↗

Keep the profile private.

Optional profile boxes can be left empty.

Never post

Your full name, birthday, or age
Your school, home address, or phone number
Your personal email or social-media account
Your exact location, schedule, or identifying photos

Parent or guardian

Review the public profile after registration. Remove anything that could identify or contact the student outside the chess activity.

Know what to do when something feels wrong.

A student never has to solve an online safety problem alone.

Student

Do not reply to suspicious messages.
Do not open strange links.
Tell your parent, guardian, or teacher.

Parent or guardian

Use Lichess blocking and reporting tools when needed. Contact Lichess through its official help pages for account or safety concerns.

Three safety rules

Remember these every time.

Kid Mode helps, but a safe account also depends on good habits and adult support.

Keep passwords private.

Only type the password on lichess.org. Use the official password-recovery page when help is needed.

Keep personal details offline.

A chess opponent does not need to know the student's school, address, phone number, or social accounts.

Ask an adult.

Stop and ask for help when a message, link, request, or account problem feels strange or uncomfortable.

Fair play

Play using your own chess ideas.

Lichess requires players to compete without outside help during a game.

Do not use a chess engine, book, database, or another person to choose moves during a live game.

Do not deliberately lose games to change a rating.

Be polite after winning or losing.

Report problems instead of arguing or publicly accusing another player.

Before the first game

Parent or guardian checklist.

Tick each item together. The boxes reset when the page is closed or refreshed.

I reviewed the Lichess Terms of Service.The account is authorized under the student's age and local rules. I reviewed the Lichess Privacy Policy.I understand the account information and public profile choices. I supervised the account creation.The student did not register alone or pretend to be older. The username protects the student's identity.It does not contain a full name, school, birthday, or exact location. The recovery email is accessible.The family can use it if the password is forgotten. Kid Mode is enabled.I will keep it enabled while the young student uses the account. The student understands password safety.The password will not be shared with friends, opponents, or the teacher. The student understands fair play.No engine, database, book, or other person's moves during a game. The student knows to ask for help.Suspicious messages, links, or behavior will be shown to an adult.

Setup progress 0 of 9 complete

Official pages

Check Lichess directly.

The Lichess interface and policies can change. A parent or guardian should review the current official pages during setup.

Create a Lichess account Kid Mode settings Terms of Service Privacy Policy Fair-play guidance Lichess help and contact

This tutorial explains the process in simple language. The official Lichess Terms of Service and Privacy Policy remain the authoritative rules.