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Chess960 (Fischer Random)

Explore Chess960, a variant that randomizes the back rank pieces to test pure chess understanding without opening preparation. Created by Bobby Fischer to promote creativity and reduce reliance on memorized theory.

Starting Position Rules

The rules for generating a valid Chess960 starting position

  • Bishops must be placed on opposite-colored squares
  • The king must be placed between the two rooks
  • White and black pieces mirror each other
  • All other pieces can be randomly arranged
  • There are 960 possible starting positions

Castling Rules

Special castling rules specific to Chess960

  • The king and rook move to their normal chess positions after castling
  • The king always moves to c1 (queenside) or g1 (kingside) for White
  • The rook always moves to d1 (queenside) or f1 (kingside) for White
  • All squares between the king and rook must be empty
  • The king cannot pass through attacked squares while castling

General Rules

Standard chess rules that apply to Chess960

  • All piece movements are the same as in regular chess
  • Pawns promote on the 8th rank as normal
  • En passant captures are allowed
  • Checkmate and stalemate rules are unchanged
  • The game can end in a draw by agreement, repetition, or insufficient material

Next Steps

After exploring Chess960, consider trying these related variants:

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