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Freestyle Chess, also known as Chess960, is an alternative to the classic game of chess.
Freestyle Chess: these are the rules
Even if it sounds anarchic at first, there are certain rules to Freestyle Chess. The main difference to the classic game is the starting position.
- In classic chess, the pieces rook, bishop, knight, queen and king are placed on the first and eighth row in a predetermined order. In freestyle chess, these pieces are placed almost randomly.
- In Freestyle Chess, the pawns are not allowed to change their initial position. They remain on the front row.
- In this game variant, the king must stand between the rooks. This also means that it cannot stand at the edge.
- The two bishops must be placed on both white and black squares.
- The goal in Freestyle Chess is the same as in classic chess: you have to checkmate your opponent.
These are the starting positions in Freestyle Chess
The name Schach960 comes from the 960 different line-ups that are possible in Freestyle Chess. The line-up can be random, but you can also plan it.
- The starting position of the black pieces mirrors that of the white pieces. You can coordinate the starting position with your opponent or decide on the spot.
- You can also set up the lineup step by step with your opponent. Take turns placing a piece on the chessboard according to the rules. Your opponent places the piece mirrored to you on the specified row. Continue in turns until the row is filled with pieces.
- You can also use a dice to determine the positions. Start with the bishops. There are four possible placements for each bishop. If you roll a five or a six, simply roll the dice again. Then determine the placement of the queen and the knights. Finally, place the king in the center of the remaining squares. The rooks occupy the outer squares.
These are the origins of Freestyle Chess
Freestyle Chess first appeared in the 1990s. Here it was given different names such as Chess960, Fischer Random Chess or Fischer Chess.
- In 1996, the first tournament in the chess variation was held in Yugoslavia. The winner was Peter Leko, who had been part of the Hungarian national chess team since 1994.
- Peter Leko also won the first major match against Michael Adams in freestyle chess in 2001. Although there was no official world championship at the time, Leko was considered as such in the chess scene.
- Until 2009, the unofficial world championships were held in Mainz. After Leko, Pjotr Swidler, Lewon Aronjan and Hikaru Nakamura won the final matches in the following years. In the women’s event, Alexandra Kostenjuk won twice.
- Since 2019, the International Chess Federation has also officially awarded the world championship title in the Chess960 discipline. The first official world champion was Wesley So. In 2022, chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura took over the title.
