Freestyle Chess
Freestyle chess is another name for Chess960, which was coined and popularized by a 2024 chess event called the Freestyle G.O.A.T. Challenge. In freestyle chess, the pieces on the back rank are randomized in the starting position.
Read on to learn more about this popular chess variant, which you can play by clicking the button below.
What Is Freestyle Chess?
Freestyle chess is a chess variant, which just means a different way of playing a chess game, where pieces usually move the same way as normal, but other aspects of the game are changed. It goes by two other, older names: Fischer Random, after its inventor GM Bobby Fischer, and Chess960, after the 960 possible starting positions in the variant.
The pieces are placed randomly on the first and eighth ranks, Black's pieces mirroring White's, with only two restrictions: the king must be placed between both rooks, and the bishops must be on opposite-color squares. The queen and knights can occupy any starting square, and pawns are placed on the second and seventh ranks as in a normal game.
Pieces move as normal. Castling involves placing the king and rook on their usual castling squares: either c1/c8 or g1/g8 for the king, and either d1/d8 or f1/f8 for the corresponding rook. The other rules of castling—the squares in between where the king and rook end up must be completely clear, and the king cannot be under attack on any square that it starts, crosses, or ends on—still apply.
Why Play Freestyle Chess?
The main reason people play freestyle chess is to avoid opening theory and memorization. Through the centuries, the opening phase of chess has been studied in extreme depth. By swapping the pieces around, all of that study goes out the window, and players are on their own from the very first move of the game.
Who Plays Freestyle Chess?
You can play freestyle chess right here on Chess.com!
There are also several grandmaster-level freestyle chess tournaments, including an official FIDE championship under the name Fischer Random. The 2022 championship was won by GM Hikaru Nakamura.
The 2024 Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge, which was the first event to use the name freestyle chess, starred eight of the world's top 25 players at the time:
- GM Magnus Carlsen
- GM Fabiano Caruana
- GM Ding Liren
- GM Alireza Firouzja
- GM Gukesh Dommaraju
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- GM Vincent Keymer
- GM Levon Aronian
It was won by Carlsen, who said about the format:
Magnus Carlsen: "I'm not saying [Chess960] is better than normal chess, but I think it's more suited to a classical time control"#FreestyleChess pic.twitter.com/uqJIOePrFU
— chess24 (@chess24com) February 9, 2024
Conclusion
Now you know what freestyle chess is, why it's played, and who plays it. Learn even more about this popular variant at our Chess960 chess term page!
