How to play Chess960?
Chess960 is also known as Fischer Random Chess. Bobby Fischer, World Chess Champion (1972-75), developed this creative variant with 960 different starting positions. In 2009, the rules of Chess960 were adopted by the World Chess Federation FIDE.
Starting positions – the king table
Starting positions – the bishop table
These two tables are designed to quickly assign any Chess960 starting position (short: SP) on the white base row to a randomly drawn number between 1 and 960 (or 0 and 959).
Find the same number or the next smallest number in the king table. Now determine the difference (0...15) to the drawn number and look for the corresponding bishop position in the bishop table. First place the two bishops on the base row, then place the six figures in the order from the found line of the king table on the remaining six free spaces.
Example:
We look at the SP 518. In the king table we find the number 512:
For the residual value, we find in the bishop table at number 6
Overall, this results in the following for the SP 518 = 512 + 6 the well-known line-up for white from traditional chess:
Rules of Chess960
Before the game begins, the pawns on both sides are set up on the 2nd and 7th rows as in traditional chess.
While all pieces move as usual and the pawns remain on the second row, the positions of the officers are drawn. There are some rules that guarantee, for example, that each player gets a white- and a black-edged bishop. To ensure equal opportunities for both sides, Black receives the mirror image of the starting position.
It is also important that one rook is to the left of the king and the other rook is to the right of the king.
Example: SP 960 When drawing lots for the starting positions, there are 960 different possible arrangements. All the rules of the game are the same as in conventional chess, except for the special castling rules, which are explained below.
Special castling rules
An important nuance that distinguishes Chess960 from Shuffle Chess is the right to castle. Since there are no less than 960 possible starting positions, the right to castle has been adapted and extended.
Please note: in Chess960 there are four different castling options, depending on where the king and rooks are in the starting position:
- “two-move castling”: one move with the king, one move with the rook.
- “space-swapping castling”: king and rook swap places.
- “King castling": only the king moves.
- ‘Rook castling’: only the rook moves.
Important: In Chess960, the king and rook castle together, regardless of which of the above castling rules is applied.
Tip: Before using any of the above castling options, it is advisable to announce the castling to avoid misunderstandings. In Chess960, there is no such thing as long and short castling, but rather “c” castling (corresponds to 0-0-0 ) and “g” castling (corresponds to 0-0). Regardless of where the king and rooks start, when one side decides to castle, the two pieces will find their familiar spots: in c-castling, the king is on c1 (c8) and the rook on d1 (d8); in g-castling, the king is on g1 (g8) and the rook on f1 (f8). Otherwise, however, the usual castling rules apply.
Important: Castling is only allowed if the king is no further than the included rook's final position and the rook is no further than the included king's final position (this means that the spaces between the two pieces must be free).
Note: In Chess960, it may happen that after c- castling (0-0-0), a piece is on the a1, b1 and e1 squares, or that after g- castling, pieces can be found on e1 and h1. This is not possible in traditional chess.