Rachael Li's chess, by the numbers
October 16, 2026 · 84 classical games, 2024 to 2026, from Lichess's broadcasts
Li's 84 classical games from the last two years, from the 2026 World Youth Championship to the World Open, every move checked by Stockfish, counted the way anyone's games are. Here is what the count found.
Li is 16, a Woman International Master, and after six rounds of the 2026 U.S. Women's Championship in St. Louis shares the lead, having beaten Alice Lee with the black pieces in round 6 on October 15, 2026 (chess.com's round-6 report, by Anthony Levin). After beating Jennifer Yu the round before: "It's kind of surprising, but in this tournament anything can happen," Li said (chess.com's round-5 report). At 9 they became the youngest female U.S. Chess master on record.
This page counts how they play: 84 classical games from the last two years, mostly open tournaments against grown-up masters, every move checked by the engine, with the same questions a club player's games get asked.
How they play
Every player gets one of four profiles from two measures: how often they force matters with a check or a capture, against what the position asks for, and how rarely one of their pieces is left loose. Li's pieces are rarely loose (92 of 100; the line is at 64), and on forcing they sit under the line at 45, the same spot as Liang in blitz: the Steady Hand. The other scores: closing 97, accuracy 84.
When a game is lost, they play it to the end.
22 of 32 classical losses ended in checkmate on the board
Of Li's 32 classical losses from 2024 to 2026, 22 ended in checkmate on the board; 10 were resigned. Strong players almost always resign first: of the other classical sets counted this week, Alice Lee was mated in 1 of 17 losses, Carissa Yip in none of 19, Caruana in none of 11. The losses themselves were slow ones: 29 of the 32 had no single move that cost 30 points of winning chances.
29 of 32 losses had no blunder in them.
29 of 32 classical losses had no blunder in them
Of the 32 losses, 29 have no single move that cost 30 or more points of winning chances: outplayed a little at a time, 91% of the time, against a field that is often stronger. 31 of the 84 games were against opponents rated 100 or more points higher, where Li scored 32%; against players within 100 points, 52%; against players 100 or more points weaker, 72%. Eight moves in the 84 games cost 30 points or more.
Once clearly winning: 30 of 31.
97% of decisive advantages converted in classical
Li reached a decisive advantage in 31 classical games and won 30 of them; the other was drawn. None was lost. Carlsen's classical rate from the same kind of source is 100% on fewer games; Lichess blitz players rated 2000 and up convert 79% in blitz.
1.e4, and the Closed Sicilian against 1…c5.
83% of 46 classical games as White opened with e4
As White, Li opened 1.e4 in 38 of 46 classical games, 1.Nf3 four times, 1.b3 twice. When the answer was 1…c5, they chose the Closed Sicilian, which is their most-played line as White, 18 of 46 games, scoring 58%. As Black, 1…c5 against 1.e4 in 10 of 17, and 1…Nf6 against 1.d4 in 15 of 16.
The full reports
- Li's classical report
84 classical games, 2024 to 2026: the FIDE World Youth 2026 (11), the 1000GM Las Vegas norms (9), the AGCA Invitational (9), Cornerstone Holidays (9), the Washington International 2025 and 2026, the North American, Chicago and World Opens, the U.S. Masters, the American Cup 2026 and others, from Lichess's broadcasts. 31 wins, 21 draws, 32 losses. Download the games (PGN)
Each report opens as a deck of slides, one finding to a slide, with the positions behind every number. A blunder is a move that cost 30 or more points of winning chances; winning chances are the engine's estimate of how likely a player is to win, from 0 to 100.
How this was measured
Plysight analyzes games the same way for everyone: Stockfish evaluates every move, and the findings are counted from those evaluations. Advice lines, written for a player reading their own report, are left out. Li has no public chess.com account we could confirm, so the page stands on classical games only. The six house words the reports use are defined on the report's last slide.
Classical games from Lichess's broadcasts, 2024 to 2026, among them the 2026 World Youth Championship. Plysight is independent of Lichess and Li. Li's FIDE profile. Published October 16, 2026; updated October 16, 2026.
Piece art by Cburnett, CC BY-SA 3.0.