Fischer random chess, also known as Chess960, is a chess variant created by former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer in 1996. The idea behind this variant was to reduce the influence of opening theory and focus more on creativity, calculation, and understanding of chess principles. The rules are largely the same as standard chess, but the major difference lies in the starting position of the pieces.
In chess variaty, the back rank (where rooks, knights, bishops, queens, and kings start) is randomized while still following some constraints:
- The bishops must start on opposite-colored squares.
- The king must start between the two rooks to allow for castling.
This results in 960 possible starting positions, hence the name “Chess960.” The game is designed to neutralize the extensive preparation and memorization that characterizes classical chess openings. Because players cannot rely on pre-learned opening strategies, they must rely on their ability to assess novel positions from the very first move.
The castling rules remain similar, but due to the randomized starting positions, castling can sometimes seem unconventional. However, after castling, the king and rook will end up in their traditional squares (the king on g1/g8 for kingside castling and on c1/c8 for queenside castling).
Usually, the players accept the conditions of the organizer to generate the starting position with software. If the software is not available or the players do not accept it, there are many ways to generate a random starting position with equal probability. This requires choosing a number randomly between 0 and 959 inclusive; this number is then used as an index to the Fischer random chess numbering scheme:
Fischer random chess is popular among players who want to emphasize originality and creativity rather than deep opening knowledge. It has gained traction in official tournaments, including FIDE’s World Fischer Random Chess Championship.