Announcing Lichess Gradus League 2026 - Inaugural Edition

Lichess Gradus League

And all you need to know!

Index
1.0 LGL Info
2.0 Divisions
3.0 LGL Format
3.1 Qualifier Details
3.2 Main Season Details
3.3 Fixtures & Schedule
4.0 Short FAQ
5.0 Footnotes, Off Topic and a Thank You!

Lichess Gradus League (LGL) Info

The Lichess Gradus League is derived from the latin word "Gradus" meaning tier. It is a tiered league with promotion and relegation like the English Premier League for football.

It will be Biweekly with 4 divisions with 20 rounds plus semifinal and finals! Qualifer and Opening matches are also there in january!
This is the Inaugural Season with a lot of fun waiting!

Did You Know: "Magnus" means top or great in latin so Magnus Gradus would mean top tier! And Magnus Carlsen is a former world champion in classical and he has won world championships in other formats.

Divisions

There will 4 divisions of 10 teams each
Legends
Masters
Ranked A
Ranked B

Newer teams will be promoted using a Promotion Battle also know as qualifiers.

Format

This would be a biweekly tournament, happening once every 2 weeks. All The Divisions would start at the same time with a same time control which would be 10+5 throughout the whole 2026 season. The duration would be 2 Hours.

Every season new Ranked A and Ranked B teams will be picked by the qualifiers which happen in January. For the inaugural edition the qualifiers would determine all divisions.

Qualifier Details

Inaugural Season Qualifiers. (Will only be used for 2026 season)
1st to 10th Placement Legends Division
11th to 20th Placement Masters Division
21st to 30th Placement Ranked A
31st to 40th Placement Ranked B
In the other seasons. (For 2026 season will not be used)
1st to 10th Place Ranked A
11th to 20th Place Ranked B
And from the previous season the Masters and Legend divisions teams at Round 20 directly promote to the new seasons masters and legends division, there will not be qualifiers for them, qualifiers only for Ranked A and Ranked B teams.

Opening Match is just a small friendly tournament!

Main Season Details

The main season consists of all 20 rounds and semifinals and finals.

Rounds
Playing
You play 10+5 (for this season) in a 2 hour tournament in a regular lichess team battle, in whichever division the team you are playing for is in.
Promotion and Demotion
Every round your team promotes or demotes for the next round. To Promote you need to be top 3 (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and to demote you need to be bottom 3 (10th, 9th 8th). The Ranked B Division Teams will not demote as it is the lowest division.

Semifinals and Finals
The tournament technically ends at Round 20 as the Masters and Legends placements are taken for the next season from there, and Ranked A and Ranked B do not play after Round 20 but the Masters and Legends divisions do!
Note: Semifinals and Finals will be 3+2 Blitz.
Semifinals
The Legends and Masters divisions play in a single team battle with 20 teams known as the Semifinals, this does not affect next years qualification, the top 10 of the 20 team battle go to the finals, this could be a mix of both legends and masters teams.
Finals
The top 10 teams from semifinals fight for the grand prize in the finals.

Fixtures

All the divisions run side-by-side on the same time.
Opening Match – January 10, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Qualifier – January 24, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 1 – February 7, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 2 – February 21, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 3 – March 7, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 4 – March 21, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 5 – April 4, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 6 – April 18, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 7 – May 2, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 8 – May 16, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 9 – May 30, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 10 – June 13, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 11 – June 27, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 12 – July 11, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 13 – July 25, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 14 – August 8, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 15 – August 22, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 16 – September 5, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 17 – September 19, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 18 – October 3, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 19 – October 17, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Round 20 – October 31, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Semifinal – November 14, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC
Final – November 28, 2026 – 2:00 PM UTC to 4:00 PM UTC

Short FAQ

Why the Change of qualifiers for inaugural edition?
The inaugural editions qualifiers are changed because there is no season before the inaugural season to take the Legends and Masters teams.
Why are there qualifiers
We have qualifiers to ensure every season new teams are added to Ranked A and Ranked B which could go up or down throughout the season.
Why do you take teams from Round 20 and not finals?
The finals can have a mix of both Masters and Legends team, so can the 11th-20th Placement of semis, so we take it from Round 20s placements.
Are there prizes?
Yes, there are logos, animations and certificates.

Ask more in the forum!

Thanks for Reading

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Organised by @Arkeno_Chess and @Ar4Asd1_Chess