How to Import Your Games from Lichess and Chess.com into ChessAtlas

Note: ChessAtlas is our product. This tutorial walks through the import workflow directly.

Importing your games from Lichess or Chess.com into ChessAtlas takes under five minutes and transforms dead archived games into active training material. Every game becomes data: where you left your preparation, which positions gave you trouble, which lines to drill next. This guide shows the full workflow: export PGN, upload to ChessAtlas, organize by color and opening, and drill with FSRS spaced repetition.

What You'll Need

• A free ChessAtlas account
• An active Lichess or Chess.com account with at least a few rated games
• A modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)

No technical skills required. The core import is on the free tier; Premium adds advanced filters and extended history.

Option A: Automatic Account Sync (recommended)

The fastest method: connect your Lichess or Chess.com account directly. ChessAtlas fetches your recent games automatically and keeps them synced as you play new ones.

1. Log in to ChessAtlas at app.chessatlas.net
2. Open the "Games" or "Deviation Finder" section
3. Click "Connect Lichess account" or "Connect Chess.com account"
4. Enter your username (no password needed, ChessAtlas uses public game data)
5. ChessAtlas imports your recent games and runs them against your stored repertoire to find deviations

After the initial import, sync is automatic. Each time you play a new rated game on Lichess or Chess.com, it appears in ChessAtlas within minutes.

Option B: Manual PGN Export + Upload

Use this method for one-time bulk imports or if you prefer manual control.

Exporting from Lichess

1. Go to lichess.org/games/export (while logged in)
2. Set a date range or game count
3. Click "Download PGN", Lichess generates a single .pgn file with all your games
4. For a single game: open the game, click the "FEN & PGN" tab, copy or download the PGN

Exporting from Chess.com

1. Open the game you want to export (or go to Games → Archive for multiple)
2. Click the "Share" button near the board
3. Select "PGN" and either copy the text or download as .pgn
4. For bulk export: filter the archive by date range, then download the full PGN file

Uploading to ChessAtlas

1. In ChessAtlas, go to the Games section
2. Click "Import PGN"
3. Select your .pgn file (or drag and drop)
4. ChessAtlas parses moves, openings, ratings, and results automatically

Single games import in seconds. Large archives (hundreds or thousands of games) take 1 to 2 minutes depending on file size.

What ChessAtlas Does With Your Games

Import is not the goal, turning games into training signal is. ChessAtlas processes your imported games in three ways:

1. Deviation Finder: identifies the exact move in each game where you or your opponent left your stored repertoire. That position becomes a candidate for your review queue.
2. Opening classification: auto-detects ECO codes and names (Sicilian Najdorf, Caro-Kann Advance, Queen's Gambit Declined, etc.) so you can filter by opening.
3. FSRS scheduling: positions you got wrong are added to the review deck with aggressive scheduling. Positions you played correctly stay mostly out of view.

The net result: your training time prioritizes exactly the positions your real games expose as weak. See our full deviation detection workflow for the complete methodology.

Organize After Import

Once games are in, structure them for review:

• Filter by color: separate "White repertoire" from "Black vs 1.e4" and "Black vs 1.d4"
• Group by opening: all your Caro-Kann games together, all your Ruy Lopez games together
• Tag by result or rating gap: losses against higher-rated opponents are high-priority review material
• Flag recurring deviations: if the same opponent-deviation appears in 3+ games, upgrade it from "note" to "full repertoire line"

Common Issues and Fixes

PGN upload fails or shows format errors

Most common cause: PGN was edited manually and lost required headers. Re-export using the default Lichess or Chess.com export, both produce ChessAtlas-compatible PGN. If you modified a PGN by hand, ensure headers [Event], [Date], [White], [Black], [Result] are present.

Every game shows as "deviation"

Deviation Finder compares your games against your stored repertoire. If you have not built a repertoire yet, every move counts as a deviation. Build your repertoire first, then re-run the deviation check. See how to build your first chess opening repertoire.

Bulk import of 10,000+ games times out

Split the PGN file by date range or game type. Chess.com and Lichess export tools let you set a date range, use monthly or quarterly ranges for very active accounts.

Next Steps

After your import is complete:

1. Set up spaced-repetition drills for the top 3 to 5 positions Deviation Finder flagged
2. Play 3 to 5 rapid games per week using your repertoire, import them, and patch the gaps
3. Re-run deviation analysis weekly to keep your review queue fresh
4. Every 3 months, export your performance by opening to see which lines score well and which need overhaul

For the study framework this workflow plugs into, see How to Build a Chess Opening Repertoire That Actually Sticks.

Your Micro-Action Today

Export your last 20 rated games from Lichess or Chess.com. Upload them to ChessAtlas. Run Deviation Finder. Drill the first 3 deviations it surfaces for 10 minutes. You now have your opening training loop running on real data.

Create a free ChessAtlas account if you have not yet.