12.6% of games reach a promotion — 97.5% of them to a queen. Whoever promotes first wins 75.7% of the time, so the race is worth knowing.
Source Lichess·Games with Promotion 12.6%·Covering 2023-12 to 2025-11·Updated January 2026
12.6% of games feature a pawn promotion, with 97.5% being to Queen.
Rook is the most common underpromotion at 1.5%, followed by Knight (0.7%).
Queen promotion dominates due to its power, but Knight underpromotion is the most common alternative, typically to deliver check or avoid stalemate.
First to promote wins the majority of games. The 0.3% difference shows how decisive promotion tempo is in endgames.
| Time Control | Promo Rate | |
|---|---|---|
| UltraBullet | 11.7% | |
| Bullet | 11.8% | |
| Blitz | 13.1% | |
| Rapid | 13.4% | |
| Classical | 13.4% |
12.6% of Lichess games played December 2023 to November 2025 feature a pawn promotion, occurring on average around move 45.9. 97.5% of promotions are to Queen, with Knight being the most common underpromotion choice at 0.7%. When White promotes first, they win 75.7% of games.
12.6% of Lichess games feature at least one pawn promotion. Of these, 97.5% are to Queen, 0.7% to Knight, 1.5% to Rook, and 0.3% to Bishop. Underpromotion is rare at only 2.5% of promotions.
Rook is the most common underpromotion, at 1.5% of promotions, and Bishop the rarest, at 0.30%. Promote to a knight when its fork or check does more than a queen would, and to a rook or bishop when a queen would stalemate.
When White promotes first, White wins 75.7% of those games. When Black promotes first, Black wins 75.4%. Either way, promoting first goes with winning more often than not.
Promotions happen around move 45.9 on average in Lichess games.
Queens account for 97.5% of all promotions because they're the strongest piece. The remaining 2.5% underpromotions break down as: Knight 0.7%, Rook 1.5%, Bishop 0.3%. Queen is almost always correct—underpromoting requires specific tactical justification.
It comes up in 12.6% of Lichess games. When it does, the side that promotes first usually wins: White wins 75.7% of the games where White promotes first, and Black 75.4% of those where Black does.