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Questions tagged [chess960]

Chess960 is a chess variant in which the positions of the pieces are decided by lot. The point of Chess960 is to stress understanding and calculation, not memorization. Use this tag along with the tag [chess-variants].

Chess960 is a chess variant invented by world chess champion Robert J. Fischer. Originally called Fischer Random chess, it was renamed for marketing purposes to Chess960. The number '960' comes from the 960 possible starting positions. Chess960 is also known in United States chess as Chess 9LX.

The first world championship officially sanctioned by FIDE, the FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2019, brought additional prominence to this variant. The winner was Wesley So, who defeated world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, by 4 wins and 0 losses, to become the inaugural World Fischer Random Chess Champion.

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What is the worst opening move in Chess960 for White?

Is there a first move for white in Chess960 in which white can immediately blunder a piece or lose a significant advantage (say -2.0 or so)?
kevin jumbo
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Chess960 or Chess959?

Once in 960 times, Chess960 should just be the same as regular chess. Are there any known instances of this? Or is this selection automatically excluded, after which they just roll the dice again? So is it really "Chess959"? EDIT: Found this:…
Laska
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Why isn't Chess960 the standard?

Bobby Fischer said that standard chess is dead and I believe him. Current players rely too much on engine-moves and theory in the openings and quite far in the middle-game without any real calculations, but memory. For instance, Carlsen had…
Habbo
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What other games or chess variants are useful to improve your chess skills?

I know about Chess960, and you can play that online at lichess.org. Furthermore, I like playing Go as well. But are there any good variants and other ways to train that you use, and you know to work well?
LaPingvino
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How can you castle legally in Chess960 when the castling rook is on the king's destination square?

According to the FIDE Laws of Chess: 4.4 If a player having the move: 4.4.1 touches his king and a rook he must castle on that side if it is legal to do so 4.4.2 deliberately touches a rook and then his king he is not allowed to castle on that…
Brian Towers
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How to use dice to determine starting position in Fischer Random?

Using a set of Platonic dice (tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron), what way of choosing the initial position in a game of Fischer Random Chess (Chess 960) uses the fewest dice throws? I am looking for a way that does not…
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Starting positions in Chess960 where black is definitely worse

In article in wiki about chess960, it is stated that: It has been argued that two games should be played from each starting position, with players alternating as White and Black, since some initial positions may offer White a bigger advantage…
Salvador Dali
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Can you castle twice in Chess960?

Consider this Chess960 game. (Warning: moving backwards through this replayer will result in an incorrect board state. See Board playback and Chess 960 for details.) [FEN "rnkqbbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNKQBBNR w KQkq - 0 1"] 1. d4 Na6 2. e4…
Joseph Sible-Reinstate Monica
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Are there any inherent problems with point-symmetric random chess?

The regular setup of chess is mirror-symmetric: If you mirror the positions of all figures on the equator of the board (between the fourth and fifth rank) and swap the colours, nothing changes. It is also almost point-symmetric or…
Wrzlprmft
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Official rules for castling in Chess960? (Is there a loophole?)

Note: this is another rules-lawyering question. I first ask for an official source I am calling into question the phrasing of the rules. Then I consider a few plausibly official sources, and point out a loophole (unsurprisingly not the first time…
Remellion
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How to calculate the number of combinations for Chess960 positions

Can someone derive how do we get the total number of 960 possible positions for Chess960?
Cool_5275
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What sites have different ratings for different time controls for Chess960?

Both lichess and chess.com and have ratings for live chess960, but this is regardless of time control. Please recommend a site that has separate ratings for different time controls for chess960. There are always multiple accounts (I actually…
BCLC
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Major Chess 960 tournaments?

Does anyone have any information about upcoming Chess 960 tournaments at the top level (i.e. GMs and IMs)? Even links to/information about past, major tournaments would be appreciated. I recently learned about Chess 960, and find it quite…
chubbycantorset
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What are the best scoring openings in Chess960?

I don't play Chess960, or Fischer Chess as it is also known. I've seen a lecture or two about it, but I was never interested. Last week I was a bit bored so I decided to participate in a tournament on chess.com. By mistake I joined a Chess960…
Lynob
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Does normal Stockfish handle Chess960?

Is vanilla Stockfish perfectly capable of understanding Chess960 games (including the way castling works), or do you need to use something like Fairy-Stockfish to get the best results? It seems like normal Stockfish should work, but I want to be…
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