The short answer
LICHESS *PATRON is an authentic monthly recurring voluntary donation or patron membership charge from Lichess.org, an open-source, non-profit, ad-free online chess platform.
Why Lichess Charged Your Card
The descriptor LICHESS *PATRON indicates a recurring monthly or annual voluntary financial contribution made to Lichess.org, a popular open-source, non-profit online chess server. Unlike commercial gaming platforms that lock features behind paywalls or advertising models, Lichess provides unlimited access to puzzle tools, computer game analysis, and matchmaking entirely free of charge. The platform relies exclusively on community donations and patron memberships to cover server hosting, database maintenance, and bandwidth expenses.
If this charge appears unexpectedly on your statement, it typically means someone in your household who plays chess enrolled in the voluntary patron program using your debit or credit card. Patrons receive an honorary wing icon next to their username as a token of appreciation, though no gameplay advantages or restricted features are tied to the contribution. Because these donations renew automatically each month on the anniversary of the initial sign-up, cardholders frequently discover the recurring debit months later during financial reviews.
To verify or cancel this recurring contribution, log into your Lichess account and navigate to the patron management page to halt future automated billing. If you do not play chess or suspect that your payment details were used without authorization, check with family members first before reaching out to Lichess support or contacting your bank to dispute unauthorized transactions.
- Voluntary recurring monthly patron donation ($5, $10, $20, or custom amount)
- Annual lump-sum non-profit patron contribution to support server hosting
- Account contribution made by a chess enthusiast in your household
- Recurring donation renewal processed via Stripe or PayPal
- Check whether anyone in your household plays chess on lichess.org.
- Log into lichess.org, click on your username in the top right, and select Patron.
- Check your email inbox for tax-exempt non-profit donation receipts sent from [email protected].
How do I cancel my Lichess Patron recurring donation?
Visit lichess.org/patron, log into your profile, and click Manage Donation or Cancel to stop future automatic monthly charges.
Are Lichess features locked if I cancel my patron badge?
All gameplay, puzzle tools, and computer analysis on Lichess are completely free for everyone; patron status is purely an honorary non-profit donation.
Independent reference — not affiliated with Association Lichess. Billing names and policies change; verify with the merchant or your bank before acting.
Verified sources
Every claim on this page is checked against official sources — open them to confirm before you call your bank.
- Lichess Official Portal https://lichess.org/
- Lichess Patron & Financial Transparency https://lichess.org/patron
Reviewed Sep 11, 2026 · high · About UnknownCharges