Chess960
Also known as Fischer Random, Chess960 is a chess variant created by former World Champion Bobby Fischer. While it follows the same rules as standard chess, the initial setup is designed to reduce the reliance on opening theory by randomly shuffling the pieces on each player's back rank.
Rules
Rule
|
Details |
Game endings | Games in Chess960 end in the traditional ways—checkmate, stalemate, or time-out. |
Bishops | Bishops must still be on opposite colors in the initial Chess960 position. |
King and rook placements | The king must be placed between the two rooks to allow for castling in both directions. This means that the White king can only be placed between the squares b1 and g1 or b8 and g8 for Black. |
Castling | Despite the varied starting positions, the standard rules of castling still apply:
Regardless of the initial locations of the king and rook, after castling, the final placement for both the king and rook when castling is constant.
This means that if White wants to castle kingside, the king must land on the g1 square, and the kingside rook must land on f1. Should White want to castle queenside, the king must land on c1, and the queenside rook lands on d1. To remember this, think about classical chess castling and where the pieces land:
 📚 Check out this article to learn more about castling in Chess960: How do I Castle in Chess960? |
How to start a Chess960 game
Web
Click 'Play' from the left-hand menu and select 'Play' from the appearing options
On the new game page, click on the 'Custom' dropdown:
Click on the arrow pointing down next to 'Standard' and select 'Chess960' from the drop-down menu:
You can then customize your game and start playing!
Mobile
Tap the 'Play' button on your homescreen
Tap the 'More' dropdown menu and select 'Custom'
On the custom game screen, tap on 'Standard' and select 'Chess960' from the menu
Tap 'Play!' to start your game!