Fischer random chess
Fischer random chess, also known as Chess960 ('chess nine-sixty') and freestyle chess, is a variation of the game of chess invented by the former world chess champion Bobby Fischer. Fischer announced this variation on June 19, 1996, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fischer random chess employs the same board and pieces as classical chess, but the starting position of the pieces on the players' home ranks is randomized, following certain rules. The random setup makes gaining an advantage through the memorization of openings impracticable; players instead must rely more on their skill and creativity over the board.
One of 960 possible starting setups. Black's setup always mirrors White's. | |
| Years active | Since June 19, 1996 |
|---|---|
| Genres | Board game Chess variant |
| Players | 2 |
| Setup time | ≈1 min + 1 min to determine starting position |
| Playing time | Casual games: 10–60 min Tournament games: from 10 min (fast chess) to >6 h |
| Chance | Pieces are randomized |
| Skills | Strategy, tactics |
| Synonyms | Chess960 Fischerandom New chess |
Randomizing the main pieces had long been known as shuffle chess, but Fischer random chess introduces new rules for the initial random setup, "preserving the dynamic nature of the game by retaining bishops of opposite colors for each player and the right to castle for both sides". The result is 960 unique possible starting positions.
In 2008, FIDE added Chess960 to an appendix of the Laws of Chess. The first world championship officially sanctioned by FIDE, the FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2019, brought additional prominence to the variant. It was won by Wesley So. In 2022, Hikaru Nakamura became the new champion.