Fischer chess (chess-960): what it is, features, differences from classical chess

Is there room for imagination and individuality in chess? It is a game where moves are predictable and can be calculated ahead of time for yourself and your opponent. However, the usual schemes and moves in chess can get boring. You don't want to memorize variants of combinations. Then Fischer chess can be the ideal game, especially for those who have a rich imagination, ingenuity, who want non-standard solutions and unpredictability.

What is Fischer chess

Fischer chess has a second name - “Chess 960”. They were invented and popularized by the famous world champion Robert Fischer. There are 960 different ways to arrange the pieces in Fischer chess. Therefore, this figure is in the name of the game.

The main difference between Fischer chess and regular chess is that the initial position of the pieces on the chessboard is different:

• Pawns are placed on the second and seventh horizontals.
• The more important pieces - knights and bishops, as well as rook, king and queen - are placed on the first and last horizontals.

In order to preserve the dynamics of classical chess, some restrictions apply:

• White pieces are placed on the first horizontal and black pieces on the eighth horizontal.
• Black and white pieces are placed symmetrically.
• Each player has a white and black bishop.

Initially the king's position is between two rooks. The white king cannot be placed on a1 or h1, and the black king is not placed on a8 or h8.

Features of Chess 960

The main reason why Robert Fischer modified classical chess is that he didn't want contract matches and constant memorization of variations and combinations. For about the first 20 or so moves, you can play almost strictly by textbook. This creates monotony and the intrigue is lost.

Fischer believed that preparation for the start of the game reduces the interest of the participants. They have to spend long hours at home analyzing openings, memorizing, reproducing multi-move variations. This is monotonous, boring work. In his interpretation of chess it is impossible to guess the initial position of the pieces. That's why there is no need to learn combinations. Players can only rely on their imagination and knowledge of the principles of positioning chess pieces. Also important is the skill of calculating options. Thanks to this, the moves are fresh and non-standard, and the participants show their creativity and ingenuity.

There is castling, in which the king and rook move at the same time. For this to be possible, three conditions are necessary:

• From the beginning of the game the king and rook must not move, they remain in their original positions.
• The fields between the king's initial and final move fields must not contain any opponent's pieces.
• There must be no own pieces in the path of the king and rook, but the fields where the king and rook are before castling are not counted. When castling is done, the king and rook are further placed where they are in classical chess.

In Chess 960 the rules are the same as in the regular classical game. Each piece moves in the same way as in the regular version of chess. The winner is the one who checkmates the opponent.