How the Lichess4545, LoneWolf, Lichess960 and Blindfold Leagues Differ

Lichess Leagues (lichess4545.com) hosts four separate long-form leagues, and the main differences are time control, format, and whether you play as part of a team or as an individual. The Lichess4545 League is a 45+45 team event with one game per week; LoneWolf is a 30+30 individual Swiss with one game per week; the Lichess960 League is a 20+20 Chess960 Swiss running seven weeks; and Blindfold is a 15+15 blindfold Swiss played over seven rounds, one game per week. Pick based on how much time you can commit per game, whether you want teammates, and whether you want a variant or a standard game.

Quick comparison

All four share the same weekly rhythm: you are expected to play a single long game each week rather than many short ones.

Lichess4545 League: team play at the slowest time control

This is the league the site is named after. You play 45+45 — 45 minutes initial time plus a 45-second increment per move — as part of a team, one game per week.

Choose this if:

• You want the slowest, most classical-feeling game of the four.
• You want a team structure, with teammates and opponents assigned through the league rather than a pure open pairing.
• You can set aside roughly an hour and a half or more for a single game.

The trade-off is commitment: team play means your result matters to others, and 45+45 games run long.

Lichess LoneWolf: individual Swiss at 30+30

LoneWolf drops the team element. You play 30+30 in a large Swiss tournament, one game per week, as an individual.

Choose this if:

• You want a serious standard-chess game but with less time per game than 45+45.
• You prefer individual standings over team responsibility.
• You want the Swiss pairing experience — you are matched against players on a similar score as the event progresses.

Because it is a large Swiss, you are not dependent on a fixed team roster to get your weekly game.

Lichess960 League: Chess960 over seven weeks

This league uses Chess960 (Fischer Random), where the starting position of the back-rank pieces is shuffled. Time control is 20+20, and it runs as a 7-week Swiss tournament, one game per week.

Choose this if:

• You want a variant rather than standard chess.
• You are comfortable with opening theory being largely irrelevant, since the start position changes.
• You want the fastest time control of the three standard-board leagues (20+20).

The seven-week Swiss structure means the event has a defined length, with pairings developing across the weeks.

Lichess Blindfold: 15+15 without sight of the board

The Blindfold league is played at 15+15 with the board hidden — you play without seeing the position. It is a seven-round Swiss tournament, one game per week.

Choose this if:

• You want to test visualization and calculation rather than opening knowledge.
• You want the shortest time control of the four (15+15).
• You are comfortable with the extra cognitive load of holding the position in your head.

The blindfold element, not the time control, is the defining constraint here — mistakes tend to come from losing track of the board rather than from running low on time.

How to decide

• Want a team and the slowest game? → Lichess4545 League (45+45).
• Want individual standard chess at a moderate pace? → LoneWolf (30+30).
• Want a variant with a fixed multi-week event? → Lichess960 League (20+20, 7 weeks).
• Want a visualization challenge at the fastest control? → Blindfold (15+15, seven rounds).

All four require the same basic commitment: one long game per week. The real decision is team vs. individual, standard vs. variant, and how much time you want on the clock.