FISCHERANDOM CHESS: Chess960 Random Position Generator

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position # random

FEN: nbbnrqkr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NBBNRQKR w KQkq -

How to Use This Page

This page is used for generating a random position to play Fischerandom Chess. Every time you reload this page, or press the new position button, a different position will appear. Just set up a chessboard based on the diagram above, find an opponent, and have fun.

Quick Rules for Fischerandom Chess

Fischerandom Chess is played with a normal chess board and pieces. All rules of Orthodox Chess apply except as otherwise noted.
The initial configuration of the chess pieces is determined randomly for White, and the black pieces are placed equal and opposite the white pieces. The piece placement is subject to the constraints:

the king is placed somewhere between the two rooks, and
the bishops are on opposite colors.
pawns are placed on each player's second rank as in Orthodox Chess.
There are 960 such configurations.
Castling, as in Orthodox chess, is an exceptional move involving both the King and Rook. Castling is a valid move under these circumstances:

Neither King nor Rook has moved.
The King is not in check before or after castling.
All squares between the castling King's initial and final squares (including the final square), and all of the squares between the castling Rook's initial and final squares (including the final square), must be vacant except for the King and Rook.
No square through which the King moves is under enemy attack.
The movement of the King and Rook during castling should be easily understood by players of Orthodox Chess:

When castling on the h-side (White's right side), the King ends on g1 (g8), and the rook on f1 (f8), just like the O-O move in Orthodox chess.
When castling on the a-side (White's left side), the King ends on c1 (c8), and the rook on d1 (d8), just like the O-O-O move in Orthodox chess.
Sometimes the King will not need to move; sometimes the Rook will not need to move. That's OK.

The object is to checkmate the opponent's King. Have fun!

Audio file of Bobby Fischer explaining Fischerandom

fischerandom.mp3 (MP3 format)

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 29 OF 52 · Later Kibitzing>
Aug-13-05		ughaibu: Gypsy: that's true, but again Mack didn't say it mattered, merely noted it, perhaps as an interesting point for psychologists, light bulb manufacturers or similar.

Aug-13-05		Gypsy: That, I can empathise with.

Aug-13-05		martis27: Thanks PSDad. Eggman: the only difference is: in Chess960 there is 960 different initial positions (including classical position), in Fischerandom there is 959 positions - without classical one.

Aug-13-05		Joshka: How does one castle in position 905?

Aug-13-05		Joshka: Has anyone compiled games from certain positions, for example; master level games from position 909, or 642, and written about them, as to what the best opening moves are? I know this defeats the purpose, but it's just logical that when we see certain moves on certain opening positions, we will know what the best opening moves are. In fact with 959 positions picked at random, I'm sure there are positions that have NOT even been played at master level?

Aug-13-05		popski: Read Quick Rules for Fischerandom Chess, under III.

Aug-13-05		percyblakeney: <How does one castle in position 905?> Maybe <ChessChamp> will have a suggestion...

Aug-13-05		Joshka: <popski> Well in 905, the rooks are on c1 and e1, king on d1. To castle King side, the King jumps over the E1 rook lands on G1. Then the E1 rook goes to F1? And vice versa for queenside?

Aug-13-05		martis27: Fischerandom rules written here are incorrect! III c: All squares between the King and Rook must be empty, and the final square of the Rook must be clear. The correct rule: All the squares between the king's initial and final squares (including the final square), and all of the squares between the rook's initial and final squares (including the final square), must be vacant except for the king and castling rook. Castle in position 905: a-side castle is posible at first move, simply swap king and rook at squares c1 and d1. h-side castle is posible when squares f1 and g1 will be empty. Put king on h1 and rook on f1.

Aug-13-05		Joshka: <perceyblakeney> YES:-)...with 0-0-0-0 Champs Castling in Fischer Random outta be a hoot!:-) Sorry Champ, just teasing, gotta have a sense of humor at times, going thru life's struggles:-)

Aug-13-05		martis27: Correct fischerandom rules: http://www.dwheeler.com/essays/Fisc...

Aug-13-05		Joshka: <martis27> Allright thanks!!, wow, so in position say 905, the first opening move with white can be queenside castling? Just swapping the king and rook? Wait a minute, wouldn't this create a position that is another one of the 959 starting positions?? If true then, position 905 can always be changed to another position, if black does the same thing on his move?

Aug-13-05		SEMENELIN: thinking about Grandmasters or Supergrandmasters what is it this game to master. It is true that it has no definite variations and has a lot of random position. How do you rate a player in this game anyways?? In my opinion it is not proper to use a GM or a Master title in this game cause there is i think there is no principle or style to master. In orthodox chess , styles such as openings such as the sicilian,french, bird opening etc. is a must to master. I think if you know how to play orthodox chess probably a liitle bit of style could come in.

Aug-13-05		Happypuppet: Hmmm, seems like one thing you have to learn for Fischerandom that you would never learn in Orthodox is how to deal with the development of bishops and queen when they're in a corner. If you develop them early, you might sacrifice central control, and vice versa.

Aug-13-05		martis27: <Joshka>: it is impossible after castle to create another fischerandom startup position, because in any fischerandom startup position, the king must be placed somewhere betveen rooks. After castle, obviously, the king will not be between rooks.

Aug-13-05		Joshka: <Martis27> Yes of course, duh, sorry for my ignorance, thanks for helping!:-)

Aug-13-05		MagicPete: <martis27: in Chess960 there is 960 different initial positions (including classical position), in Fischerandom there is 959 positions - without classical one.> No. The classical starting position is not removed in Fischerandom.

Aug-13-05		percyblakeney: The classical position is number 54.

Aug-13-05		tamar: <Q. How long does it take for a Fischerandom player to change a lightbulb?> A. A long time, because they have 960 different sizes.

Aug-13-05		percyblakeney: It would take a Fischerandom player to start complaining about the lights in the first place...

Aug-13-05		NakoSonorense: soooooo, is it fun to play fisherandom chess? I've never tried it...

Aug-13-05		mack: <soooooo, is it fun to play fisherandom chess?> Depends, if you're into staring directly at the sun then you should find it a blast.

Aug-13-05		percyblakeney: I've just tried it a couple of times against Shredder, and it's amazing how quickly things go bad... In normal chess you can at least play some standard opening and have something similar to an equal position after 10 moves, Fischerandom is much harder. It's different when both players are human, but still the starting positions feel unnatural to me, and not at all as fun as "real" chess, but maybe it just takes a while to get used to it.

Aug-13-05		Gypsy: <percyblakeney> No, we @#$%* only about the manuals... <NakoSonorense> Yes, it is. It's a strange feeling not to have "the book" in your head to lean on -- 'scary' at first. Then it feels like always getting into a some unfamiliar middle game from a book. And then one starts thinking about how opening principles actually emerge from chess. What comes afterwards, I do not know. Overall, the initiation period feels quite like if you are fairly good at something, say an expert skier, and then you pick up a simmilar but different activity, say snowboarding. On ballance, I thouroughly enjoy the chess that comes out of it.

Aug-13-05		Gypsy: The relationship between the play from regular position and from randomized ones is a bit like playing piano and violin: Even if tone-deff, one can become a decent pianist by practicing hard. But one has to be a good musician to play the violin.

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