Chess960: A Complete Guide

Of all the many chess variants, chess960 is the most popular and the most widely respected. Each new game of chess960 sees the pieces shuffled on the back rank into one of 960 possible starting positions (hence the name). This drastically diminishes the role of memorized opening knowledge compared to standard chess.

Chess960 is also known as “Fischer Random Chess” in honor of the 11th World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer, who is credited with formalizing the rules of the variant in the 1990s.

More recently, chess960 has also come to be known as “Freestyle Chess” thanks to the efforts of German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, who in 2025 launched a lucrative series of professional chess960 tournaments called the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.

Although the chess world cannot agree on a name for the variant, it is clear that chess960 is here to stay. Why not try it for yourself?

In this article, we cover:

• How to set up a chess960 game and how castling works.
• Ideas to play the opening strongly, depending on the features of the starting position.
• The benefits of playing chess960 for your performance in standard chess.

Introduction To Chess960

Below is one possible starting position from chess960. We draw your attention to three things:

• The board is the same size as in standard chess (8 squares x 8 squares).
• The pieces on the back rank are placed differently than in standard chess.
• The opposing forces are placed symmetrically, just like in standard chess.

Aside from the different starting positions of the pieces (and the castling rules, which we will explain later), from here the game proceeds with the same rules as in standard chess.

This combination of factors makes chess960 straightforward for chess players to learn and play. 

• Since chess960 is played on a regular-sized chess board, no additional equipment is required in order to play it (unlike, for example, Capablanca chess, which needs a special 10x8 board).
• Because chess960 does not introduce any new pieces, everything from standard chess regarding tactical patterns, middlegame strategy, and endgame technique still applies. This stands in contrast to chess variants which bring so-called “fairy pieces” into the game, with their different ways of moving - a fact which renders a great deal of a player’s prior chess knowledge obsolete.

History Of Chess960

The idea of randomizing the pieces is a very old one. The Dutch chess enthusiast Philip Julius van Zuylen van Nijevelt proposed it in 1792 as a way of eliminating opening memorization from chess, which he saw as tedious and repetitive.

Today, chess960 is popular for much the same reason. Some chess players enjoy the challenge that comes with opening study, viewing it as a potential way to gain an early advantage over their opponents. However, others strongly dislike opening memorization. David Shenk, the author of The Immortal Game, compared studying chess openings to memorizing numbers from a telephone book!

Chess games with a randomized starting position require players to rely on their skill and creativity from the very start of the game, instead of reciting memorized opening lines for a dozen or more moves.

However, one major drawback of a completely randomized starting position is that it can result in an unfair advantage for the player with the White pieces. Although White’s first-mover advantage provides a slight edge in standard chess, White can have a near-decisive advantage in certain randomized starting positions.

We mentioned earlier that chess960 is also known as “Fischer Random”. This is due to Bobby Fischer’s contribution, which set certain limits to the randomization. In particular:

• The two bishops must be placed on opposite color squares.
• There must be one rook to the left of the king’s starting position, and one rook to the right. This means that the king will later have the option of castling in either direction, just like in standard chess.

Fischer believed that these constraints guaranteed a fairer game for both colors.

Related: Learn from the games of the 11th World Chess Champion with Bobby Fischer - My 60 Memorable Games, available from the House of Staunton store.

Setting Up A Chess960 Game

The easiest way to get a random chess960 starting position which follows all of the rules correctly is to use one of the many chess960 generators freely available online. Click here for our favorite chess960 generator.

How To Castle In Chess960

Castling in chess960 can be confusing at first. The king and rooks often begin on different squares than in standard chess.

Most of the rules around casting from standard chess are identical in chess960:

• All squares must be clear between the king and the rook.
• The king must not have moved off its starting square at any point previously.
• The rook which is participating in the castling must also not have moved.
• The king cannot be in check.
• Nor can the king castle across a square which is controlled by an enemy piece.

Related: All You Need To Know About Castling In Chess.

Beyond that, the important thing to know is that the king and rook will arrive on the same destination squares as in standard chess. From White’s perspective:

• Castling kingside will result in the king on g1 and the rook on f1.
• Castling queenside will result in the king on c1 and the rook on d1.

Below is an example of chess960 castling from Levon Aronian vs. Vladimir Fedoseev, 2025. White’s king was already on c1, while White’s queenside rook began the game on b1. In order to castle queenside, White’s king stayed in place, while the rook hopped over to d1.

When the king does not move in the act of castling (as was the case in the Aronian vs. Fedoseev position above), the way to signal intent to castle in an over-the-board chess960 game is to:

• First, shift the king slightly downward, off the edge of the board.
• Then, move the rook to its new castled position.
• Finally, return the king to its original square before pushing the clock.

Ideas In The Opening

Given that there are so many different starting positions in chess960, it is impractical to commit openings to memory in the same way as is possible in standard chess.

However, there are still certain pieces of wisdom that can help to play the opening strongly in chess960.

Identify Undefended Pawns

The first thing to do when you see a new chess960 starting position is to see if any pawns are without defenders.

For example, in position 880, the g-pawns and h-pawns (highlighted below) are both undefended by any of their own pieces. This makes them natural targets to attack.

Understanding the weakest pawns in the starting position is an excellent place to start in forming an opening plan.

Notice Any Similarities To The “Standard” Starting Position

Sometimes the starting position of a chess960 game is vastly different to that of standard chess. However, other starting positions are quite similar. For instance, check out position 518:

Of course, this is the standard starting position. Yes, it is one of the 960 possibilities when playing chess960!

Even if the position is not exactly identical, some chess960 setups allow players to use ideas from standard chess.

The above position 538 has the knights, rooks and queens on the same starting squares as in standard chess. Therefore, some opening knowledge from your experience in standard chess can be leveraged in a position like this one.

Take Your Time In The Opening

You should spend your time differently in chess960 than you would in standard chess. 

Because players have usually memorized their opening moves in standard chess, the first few moves are often played out almost instantly. However, in chess960, it is common for the top players to invest a great deal of thinking time as early as move one.

Do not be concerned about this. After all, you are navigating an unfamiliar position. Take your time in the opening phase of a chess960 game.

The Benefits Of Chess960

Here are some reasons to give chess960 a try:

• Levels the playing field in terms of opening preparation. A standard chess game under classical time controls can often be decided by whoever dedicates more time to opening preparation before the game begins. This can be frustrating for the busy chess player, who wants to test their wits against their opponent, rather than enter into a memorization contest. Chess960 games will be fought at the board, not via home opening preparation.
• Improves your understanding of chess. Without being able to rely on memorized openings, you will be forced to play the early part of the game based on positional considerations and calculation. This should make you a more creative, adaptable player.
• More varied positions. Instead of getting the same kinds of positions over and over again based on your opening repertoire from standard chess, you will be thrown into wildly different positions in every chess960 game. This will help you to develop more of a universal style at the chess board.

Summary And Next Steps

Chess960 (also known as Fischer Random and Freestyle Chess) is a chess variant which offers plenty of excitement. You will get varied positions where both you and your opponent will be unable to rely on memorized opening knowledge.

As a bonus, time spent playing chess960 is bound to improve your performance in standard chess as well.

Both of the major online chess platforms, chess.com and lichess.org offer chess960 as an option on their sites. Now that you have finished reading this article, head over to your favorite site and dive right in!