Lichess.org

Lichess is a prominent free and open-source online chess server. Founded in 2010 by French developer Thibault Duplessis, the platform was built on the philosophy of providing a high-quality chess experience without advertisements, tracking, or subscription fees. It has grown to become one of the most popular chess websites in the world, serving millions of games daily.

The platform is unique in the tech industry because it is operated entirely as a non-profit volunteer-driven project. Its source code is open to the public, allowing for massive community collaboration and transparency in its anti-cheat algorithms and features. Lichess relies entirely on donations from its user base to cover server costs and developer salaries, maintaining its status as a purely community-focused digital asset.

Technically, Lichess is hosted across various data centers to provide low-latency play globally. The back-end is primarily written in Scala and utilizes the lila (li[chess in] la[nguage]) engine. Because it is a non-profit and open-source, it is not subject to corporate acquisitions or commercial ownership structures common in the gaming industry.