Robert James Fischer went down in chess history not only as a great champion but also as an author and a popularizer of Chess960, also known as Fischer Random Chess. On the 82nd anniversary of the 11th World Champion’s birth, we publish a piece on the chess variant that bears his name.
Early contributions
The concept of random chess, also known as shuffle chess, was first proposed by the Dutch chess enthusiast Philip Julius van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1743-1826). In his renowned treatise on chess, La Supériorité aux Échecs, published in 1792, Van Zuylen van Nijevelt articulated his disdain for the repetitive patterns often found in standard chess openings. He proposed the idea of randomizing the starting positions of the main pieces to create a vast array of unique starting positions, eliminating the possibility of pre-game memorization or extensive opening theory. This early conception of random chess by Van Zuylen van Nijevelt laid the foundation for Chess960.
The earliest documented games of shuffle chess were played between Van der Hoeven and Alexandre in Mannheim in 1842. One of these games is preserved in Sissa, the Netherlands’ first long-standing chess journal, demonstrating an initial position with two advanced pawns on each side. A later game played by Van der Hoeven was against Baron von der Lasa (1818-1899), adhering more closely to the contemporary rules of random chess, except for the monochromatic bishop pairs.
Following Van der Hoeven’s visit, the Sissa Chess Society received an invitation from the Philidor Chess Society in Amsterdam, in collaboration with Van der Hoeven, to organize a shuffle chess tournament. Originally intended as a tournament among the eight prize winners of the 1851 Philidor-organized event, logistical challenges led to invitations being extended to other chess societies. Ultimately, a tournament with seven players from Amsterdam, along with the 74-year-old Van der Hoeven, was organized. Maarten Van’t Kruijs emerged as the winner of the tournament, reinforcing the growing sentiment that the removal of opening theory allows true chess talent to shine.
Bronstein and Benko’s support
Just as the Dutch inventors of Shuffle chess back in the 18th century, World Champion Challenger David Bronstein promoted the same idea in the late 1940s, and then later Pal Benko in the 1970s.
They referred to it by various names such as: Placement Chess, Pre-Chess, Shuffle-Chess. In the variant promoted by Bronstein and Benko, the game starts with white and black pawns set as usual, but the initial position of other pieces is selected by the players.
The two players place their pieces alternately, one at a time. White first places one of his pieces on his first rank, and then Black does the same. Players continue to alternate in this manner until all pieces have been placed, with the only restriction being that bishops must be on opposite-color squares. The game then proceeds in the usual way. Strategic chess thinking therefore begins with the first placements of pieces. Yet, the essence of the game remains the same, as the pieces move as usual as in traditional chess, and the game similarly ends with checkmate.
Fischer’s influence and the evolution of Shuffle-Chess to Chess960
The year after Bobby Fischer returned to chess in 1992 for a second match versus Boris Spassky, he moved to Budapest at the suggestion of Susan Polgar. For nearly a year, he was a regular visitor to the Polgar family. He sought the help of Susan Polgar to better the rules of Shuffle-Chess. They spent a lot of time discussing and experimenting with various versions of the rules, which at times was joined by Pal Benko. Fischer’s goal was to eliminate what he considered the complete dominance of opening preparations in classical chess, and replacing it with creativity and talent. Like others before him, Fischer believed that eliminating memorized book moves would level the playing field.
In those days, Fischer and Susan Polgar initially played by the Shuffle-Chess rules promoted by Bronstein and Benko. There were three key points of debates: if the pieces should be required to be positioned symmetrically; if castling should be part of the game, and if so, in which exact form; and if Bishops can start on any square, or with the restriction of starting on opposite-colored squares.
The Final Rules by Fischer and Susan Polgar
Fischer and Susan Polgar concluded the following:
– Castling should be incorporated into the rules (by requiring the King to start somewhere in between the two Rooks), and the King and Rook would end up in their traditional castling positions.
– Bishops must start the game on opposite color squares, as in traditional chess.
– The pieces from both sides should be set up symmetrically.
Back then, it was originally known as “Fischerandom” or “Fischerandom chess”, the name given by Fischer himself.
While in Budapest, Fischer consulted mathematicians to figure out how many such piece arrangements were possible. The answer was 960, which as far as he was concerned, was enough to prevent players from planning their opening moves in advance. Hence, the name Chess960.
Fischer Random Chess was formally introduced to the public on June 19, 1996, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Here is a link to all possible 960 starting positions: https://web.archive.org/web/20070402110500/http://www.playchess960.com/images/AllPositionsChess960.gif
Chess 960 Tournaments
There have been many Chess960 tournaments held since the first one which was held in Kaniza, Yugoslavia, in the spring of 1996.
Some of the most notable ones were:
The Mainz Championship series 2001-2009, organized by Hans-Walter Schmitt.
In the Battle of the Sexes match, which took place in Lindsborg, Kansas between Anatoly Karpov and Susan Polgar, 2 games of the Chess960 variant were included, ended with one win for each player.
The first edition of the European Fischer Random Cup was held in Reykjavík on March 9, 2018, on Fischer’s 75th birthday.
In February 2018, a Chess960 match between former classical World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and the unofficial Fischer Random Chess world champion Hikaru Nakamura was held in Høvikodden, Norway. The match consisted of 8 rapid and 8 blitz games, with the rapid games counting double. Each position was used in two games, with colors reversed. Carlsen prevailed with a score of 14–10.
Since 2024 the name “Freestyle Chess” has also been used for Chess960, hosting events such as the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge 2024 and the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025.
Official recognition by FIDE
In 2008, FIDE added Chess960 to an appendix of the Laws of Chess. The first world championship officially sanctioned by FIDE, the FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2019, brought additional prominence to the variant. It was won by Wesley So.
In 2022, Hikaru Nakamura became the second World Fischer Random Champion.
Chess960 is the only chess variant recognized by FIDE other than traditional chess.
Written by Susan Polgar
Sources: Wikipedia, Rebel Queen