Fischer random chess

Fischer random chess, also known as Chess960 ('chess nine-sixty'), is a variation of the game of chess invented by the former world chess champion Bobby Fischer.

Comments by Fischer

• "Teach people to play new chess, right away. Why do you offer them a black and white television set, when there is a set in color?" in the only meeting with FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, responding to the latter advocating "step by step" changes mindful of the heritage of chess
• "I don't know when, but I think we are approaching that [the end of chess] very rapidly. I think we need a change in the rules of chess. For example, I think it would be a good idea to shuffle the first row of the pieces by computer ... and this way you will get rid of all the theory. One reason that computers are strong in chess is that they have access to enormous theory ... I think if you can turn off the computer's book, which I've done when I've played the computer, they are still rather weak, at least at the opening part of the game, so I think this would be a good improvement, and also just for humans. It is much better, I think, because chess is becoming more and more simply memorization, because the power of memorization is so tremendous in chess now. Theory is so advanced, it used to be theory to maybe 10 or 15 moves, 18 moves; now, theory is going to 30 moves, 40 moves. I think I saw one game in Informator, the Yugoslav chess publication, where they give an N [theoretical novelty] to a new move, and I recall this new move was around move 50. ... I think it is true, we are coming to the end of the history of chess with the present rules, but I don't say we have to do away with the present rules. I mean, people can still play, but I think it's time for those who want to start playing on new rules that I think are better." (September 1, 1992)
• "The old chess is you're banging your head against the wall with this theory. (...) You were trying to find some little improvement on move 18 or 20. It's ridiculous. It gets harder and harder and harder. You need more and more computers. You need more and more people working for you." 2005

Differences from other chess variants

• "I love chess, and I didn't invent Fischer Random chess to destroy chess. I invented Fischer Random chess to keep chess going. Because I consider the old chess is dying, it really is dead. A lot of people come up with other rules of chess-type games, with 10×8 boards, new pieces, and all kinds of things. I'm really not interested in that. I want to keep the old chess flavor. I want to keep the old chess game. But just making a change so the starting positions are mixed, so it's not degenerated down to memorization and prearrangement like it is today." Radio Interview, June 27, 1999 (see 2:18–3:03) [1] (also see here 39:04–39:49) [2]

• But the point about Fischer Random is that it’s basically the same as the old chess, except that you get rid of the theory, and it’s very easy to remember the rules. That’s my point, you see? I was just looking at a book Sam just gave me. This book about Capablanca. Capablanca had a very interesting game that he proposed. It was 10X10 or something and it had two Kings and extra pieces and you can win the game by mating either of your opponent’s Kings. And it looked like a very creative game, and maybe much better than Fischer Random, but it looks very intimidating. Even for me, right? Top chess player. Very intimidating. All these extra pieces, huge board, two Kings. And if it intimidates me, it will intimidate the average person much more. So there are a lot of games that you can come up with that have practical defects. Not creative defects. But just defects in terms of discouraging people to learn them. You see? That’s my point about Fischer Random. You can learn Fischer Random in 10 seconds, practically. So there is no impediment: you have the same pieces, the same board, all you have to do is get a little electronic shuffler, and in one second you have a position. But of course you could create more creative games than Fischer Random. Maybe, you know, an extra piece, a bigger board, and all kind of things. But my idea... people think I’m anti-chess. No, I’m not anti-chess. I'm pro-chess. I’m trying to keep it alive. It’s just the reverse! I’m not coming up with anything radical at all.(2005)

Fischer's proposal has elicited various comments from grandmasters.

Grandmasters: Praising or predicting Fischer random chess is the future of chess

2020–present

• "I think in general the future of classical chess as it is now is a little bit dubious. I would love to see more Fischer [Random] Chess being played over-the-board in a classical format. That would be very interesting to me, because I feel that that particular format is pretty well suited to classical chess as basically you need a lot of time in order to be able to play the game even remotely decently. And you can see that in the way that Fischer [Random] Chess is being played now when it is played in a rapid format. The quality of the games isn't very high because we make such fundamental mistakes in the opening. We don't understand it nearly enough and I think that would increase a lot if we were given a classical time control there. So I would definitely hope for that." — Magnus Carlsen, November 2020
• "I'm certainly somebody who hopes for more 960 in classical format because I feel like 960 is not that suited to rapid and blitz because you're just gonna play too poorly. You're just gonna have absolutely no clue, but if you actually have time to sit down and think for half an hour on your first five moves, then maybe you can get some more understanding of the game."— Magnus Carlsen, in a stream with Eric Hansen, April 2021
• "(...) of the leading players (...) one third is interested in it and simply lacks fitting tournaments. There have been quite some tournaments which have shown that when the conditions are similar to other tournaments, many leading players are glad to play Chess960. The former Chess Classic Mainz tournaments, the World Chess960 Championship 2019, as well as the local Chess960 Titled Arenas and other events document that there is no lack of interest in Chess960 among the players.— David Navara, November 2021
• "With the advancement in computers, I predicted that maybe 50 years from now, there won't be any more high-level professional chess. You know. Like chess will be so well-analyzed. (Nakamura: So you think within 50 years, we'll have to, like, move to 960 or something?) Yeah I think so. Yeah I feel within 50 or 70 years professional chess playing won't be as big as it is now."— Wesley So, in a stream with Hikaru Nakamura, December 2021
• (In response to question: Actually i was wondering about this seeming catch-22 in 9LX. Which is it more of? A - there aren't many tournaments BECAUSE people aren't really interested B - there aren't many tournaments AND SO people aren't really interested?)
  • "That's an excellent question! I'm definitely for B. The only point is that the tournaments must employ a slower (preferrably classical) time control in order for chess players and fans to be able to realise the genuine beauty and profundity of this complex game. Otherwise, many would indeed find no harmony in chess960, or not enough time to solve the problems it poses during games, and feel no need to take it up altogether."
  • "It's similar to complicated music which needs a thorough repeated listening in order to be appreciated and admired while sounding like a cacophony or uninteresting if listened to on-the-run. But when it comes to chess, historically the game has been seen as a complex mental activity which made people think. That is what has been making it so attractive and giving it an aura of something that improves intellect, personality etc. So why should we agree to shrinking it all down to rapid, 3-minute and 1-minute? Because the 'fashion setters' say so? 'The time is different now, there's no place for slow events and we must comply with the demands of our time'? Well, who exactly has the authority to decide what is characteristic of the current time and what isn't? Does this overwhelming speeding-up of the game really benefit many people - aside from the organisers who are now able to conduct more events in a given period of time and thus collect more money?"— GM Former_Player, December 2021
• "Most amateurs hate Chess 960 because it makes them feel stupid, but most Grandmasters love it because it makes them feel like amateurs again. It’s a chance for the chess elite to explore brand new worlds of wonderment and discovery." — Maurice Ashley, September 2022
• "This is like a dream come true for any chess player. I mean I understand that this is a chess player's chess. I understand maybe for public it's difficult to follow Fischer Random. But the amount of joy we get playing this, I don't know if anything can be compared." — Levon Aronian in an interview with Ioan-Cristian Chirilă, September 2022
• "You have chances with black all the time. And unlike in regular chess where with black you're really suffering, here you have a chance to take over because well as you see we make early mistakes all of us." — Levon Aronian in an interview with Ioan-Cristian Chirilă, September 2022
• "It's quite fun like to analyse the starting position with the guys around. And you know to come up with some opening concept. And that's probably what we never had a chance to do because we are born like now and not like 200 years ago." — Ian Nepomniachtchi in an interview with Ioan-Cristian Chirilă, September 2022
• "I like Fischer chess and it is pity that we don’t have many tournaments on it." — Sergey Karjakin, on the upcoming 2022 WFRCC, September 2022
• "There's no preparation. You just like sleep and go and play. I always felt like other physical sports they have this advantage (...) you just warm up your body before you go to the game. But in chess it's like you prepare, you look at lines (...) but in other sports you just like you get ready mentally more or just warm up a bit go. And in chess960, you can actually do that: (...) Stay sharp and just go. You don't have to like really check the lines." — Vidit Gujrathi in a stream with Ioan-Cristian Chirilă, Fabiano Caruana and Surya Shekhar Ganguly. November 2022

2015–2019

• "In my opinion, we should start moving towards Chess960, just like we started to generate energy with renewable energy sources a while ago. If we start now, then by the time it reaches a crisis point, we will have a viable alternative ready." — Srinath Narayanan, August 2017
• "Personally, It is refreshing to watch the Chess960 match between Carlsen and Nakamura. As a chess player and a fan, this is an exciting change. Could this be the future?" — Vidit Gujrathi, February 2018
• "I don't see any drawbacks in Fischer Random chess. The only slight shortcoming is the start position, otherwise there are just advantages. That's why I support it in full. If all the chess professionals played Fischer Random, our game could have been much more popular." — Alexander Grischuk, March 2018 [translated from Russian]
• "Random chess lets me enjoy myself and get publicity for chess without having to disrupt my life for months of preparation." — Garry Kasparov, August 2018
• "I think we're making theory or even making history because we're opening not even a new chapter but basically a new book on the game of chess. That's why I think all players are excited." — Garry Kasparov, September 2018
• "The computers are the ones that are creative, and the players we become robots."— Eugene Torre in an interview with Niklesh Jain in Chessbase India, March 2019
• "I think chess will become more popular if we have also the chess960."— Eugene Torre in an interview with Niklesh Jain in Chessbase India, March 2019
• "I feel like we are like children you know in elementary where you memorise things you know. And I'm already senior. I still have to review."— Eugene Torre in an interview with Niklesh Jain in Chessbase India, March 2019
• "My favorite form of chess is actually chess960. Because there's not much theory, not much preparation, it's very original. With the traditional format, the engines are just getting super strong, and it feels like you have to memorize the first 20-25 moves just to get a game. Bobby Fischer once said that the problem with chess is that you get the same exact starting position over and over. These days, there's 10 million games in the database already, so it's very hard to create original play, while chess960 is really your brain against mine. After the first or second move, you're already thinking." — Wesley So, April 2019
• "I enjoy playing this kind of chess very much because there is no theory, no knowledges. You just come, play and enjoy." — Sergey Karjakin, during the 2019 Chess 9LX tournament of the St Louis Chess Club, September 2019
• "To me, mainly chess is art — that's why I like Fischer Random a lot; there is a lot of creativity." — Wesley So, November 2019

2010–2014

• "I have to say that I love Chess960! I like to be creative and I really enjoy the Chess960 events in Mainz." — Alexandra Kosteniuk, August 2010
• "It's a game I really love and I see it as the future of chess. (...) The blitz time control destroys the whole advantage of the game over normal chess. The greatest pleasure in that form of chess is that you have to use your head from the very first move, while a lack of time forces you to act without thinking. (...) Fischer Random Chess is a fresh look at the game without a great loss of harmony." — Levon Aronian, July 2011
• "Fischer Random Chess is a great game! Creativity starts from the very first moves. If tournaments were held using it then I’d be happy to take part." — Sergey Karjakin, July 2011
• "I think chess960 is great as it is simply pure intuition and understanding without theory or computers. In my opinion, a lot depends on the trends. For example, at the moment everyone is playing the Berlin Defense which has severely reduced the number of games with 1.e4. If this trend of attempting to "kill" the excitement continues, it is hard to believe 960 won't take over at some point. However, if we start seeing a lot of deep preparation and exciting games in the Najdorf or Dragon, then I think the scope of normal chess will continue for a very long time." — Hikaru Nakamura, February 2014

Before 2010

• "Of course, if people do not want to do any work then it is better to start the game from a random position." —Garry Kasparov, December 2001
• "No more theory means more creativity." — Artur Yusupov
• "... the play is much improved over traditional chess because you don't need to analyze or memorize any book openings. Therefore, your play becomes truly creative and real." — Svetozar Gligorić
• "Finally, one is no longer obliged to spend the whole night long troubling oneself with the next opponent's opening moves. The best preparation consists just of sleeping well!" — Péter Lékó
• "The changes in chess concern the perfection of computers and the breakthrough of high technology. Under this influence the game is losing its charm and reducing more and more the number of creative players. ... I am a great advocate of Fischer's idea of completely changing the rules of chess, of creating a practically new game. It is the only way out, because then there would be no previous experience on which a machine could be programmed, at least until this new chess itself becomes exhausted. Fischer is a genius and I believe that his project would save the game." — Ljubomir Ljubojević

Grandmasters: Critical Comments

• "I don't enjoy (following chess960) as much as following a normal top event. Like, I like to play chess960, but I don't like to watch it so much. (...) It looks so weird, like the pieces (...), but to play it, it's fun (...) Also, it's very hard to follow afterwards." — Vidit Gujrathi in a stream with Ioan-Cristian Chirilă, Fabiano Caruana and Surya Shekhar Ganguly. November 2022
• "The opening decides everything. If you get a good position, it's very easy to play I mean: It's a lot of fun. You're just enjoying it. (...) But if you get a bad position right away it's very -- I mean, you're just like 'Why am I playing 960 instead of playing normal chess? I'd much rather just blitz out 20 moves of theory.'" — Hikaru Nakamura in an interview with Ioan-Cristian Chirilă, September 2022
• "I understand that some two-thirds of the leading players are not very interested in Chess960 and should not be forced to play it"— David Navara, November 2021
• "I think in classical chess there's a very healthy balance between uh talent and hard work and where how far each one will get you and as soon as you start shuffling the pieces to get rid of opening preparation and who's worked harder at that (...) the more talented people get a huge advantage compared to the harder working types we all know which category I sort of qualify myself in but uh well maybe I have to adjust that after a nice day today but yeah so in general uh I would definitely like to see more of these events but let's put it this way I would like to see more of these events without getting rid of classical events. I think as long as no classical events are harmed by it and removed but no it's a lot of fun for sure and uh while it might not be as serious it's definitely more fun all" — Sam Shankland in an interview with Maurice Ashley, September 2021
• "Chess is already complicated enough." — Vassily Ivanchuk
• "I tried many different starting positions and all these were somehow very unharmonious. And this is not surprising as in many of these positions there is immediate forced play: the pieces are placed so badly at the start that there is a need to improve their positions in one way only, which decreases the number of choices." — Vladimir Kramnik [translated from Russian]
• "Fischer Random is an interesting format, but it has its drawbacks. In particular, the nontraditional starting positions make it difficult for many amateurs to enjoy the game until more familiar positions are achieved. The same is true for world-class players, as many have confessed to me privately. Finally, it also seems to lack an aesthetic quality found in traditional chess, which makes it less appealing for both players and viewers, even if it does occasionally result in an exciting game." — Vladimir Kramnik

External links

• FIDE website for Fischer Random (old name 'frchess')
• FIDE website for Fischer Random (new name 'fischerrandom.FIDE')
• old FIDE twitter account for 2019 WFRCC 'fr_chess'
• new FIDE twitter account for 2022 WFRCC 'fischer_random'