Lichess Game of the Month May 2026 - Contest

rarest semi-smothered mate, with 2 pins on defenders, and exclusive pawn on g2 which countrols f1 square :)

@Monkey_King said ^

https://lichess.org/MwNvSton/black#40

rarest semi-smothered mate, with 2 pins on defenders, and exclusive pawn on g2 which countrols f1 square :)

nice!

Two brilliant sacrifices. @marvelgs

https://lichess1.org/game/export/gif/white/WfyKNA7B.gif?theme=brown&piece=cburnett&players=true&ratings=true&glyphs=false&clocks=false

The B40 Sicilian Defense: Paulsen-Basman Defense
Gemini said: "If someone plays this against you, they are likely looking to drag you out of standard book theory and into a gritty, concrete tactical battle where general strategic principles are thrown out the window."

A streak of 81 ply moves that the engine had something to say, but was not mentioned in the analysis. Number of PV1 moves in the game: 81.25% of the moves in the game were perfect (39 out of 48).
White: 37.5% of moves (18 out of 48)
Black: 43.8% of moves (21 out of 48)

Lichess analysis: White + Black = Total Game
Inaccuracy: 1 + 1 = 2
Mistakes: 0 + 0 = 0
Blunder: 1 + 0 = 1
Average centipawn loss: 36 + 15 = 51
Accuracy: 86% / 97% ≈ 88.66%

Lucas Chess Analysis: White ; Black {Good enough principles}
Average lost scores: 1.29pws ; 2.02pws {Any disadvantage (-0.73pws) makes it harder to overcome}
Domination: 1.04% ; 87.50% {Material imbalances help dominate games}
Complexity: Moderate (18.61%) ; Low (14.27%) {When down on material, complicate the position}
Efficient mobility: High (37.77%) ; Moderate (27.66%) {When the going gets tough, the tough get going}
Narrowness: High (49.65%) ; Moderate (16.04%) {A forced move is 100% narrow}
Pieces activity: Moderate (16.49%) ; Moderate (33.76%) {Activity not only win games, but makes them entertaining}
Exchange tendency: Extreme (164.76%) ; High (52.40%) {Avoid exchanging pieces when down on material. When up in material, trade pieces, not pawns.}
Accuracy: 70.60 % ; 83.79 % {A 13.19% tax difference}

The weakest phase was the middle game.