Chess960

Chess960, also known as Fischer Random Chess, after its inventor, former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer, provides a new variety of chess opening positions, thus obviating in most cases reliance on opening theory.

Setting up the board

The board is set up as follows: as in normal chess, the pieces occupy the first rank and the pawns the second. The pieces are distributed randomly according to an accepted method, leaving three empty squares on each side. The king is placed on the central empty square, and the rooks on the other two, so that castling is possible. The positions of black and white are, as in regular chess, arranged to mirror each other.