--- title: "Chess960" url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/chess960.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/chess960" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "Chess960 is a variant that begins from one of 960 randomly chosen back-rank setups, with the king between the rooks and the bishops on opposite colors." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/starting-position.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/castling.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/chess-variant.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fen.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rules-of-chess.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/opening-principles.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/rules-notation.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Chess960 > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. Chess960 is a variant that begins from one of 960 randomly chosen back-rank setups, with the king between the rooks and the bishops on opposite colors. Chess960 is a variant that begins from one of 960 randomly chosen back-rank setups, with the king between the rooks and the bishops on opposite colors, and is otherwise played with the usual rules. Chess960 starts every game from a shuffled back rank, then plays by the ordinary rules. White's pawns stay on the second rank and the remaining white pieces are set on the first rank at random, with two limits written into the FIDE guideline: the king must stand somewhere between the two rooks, and the [bishops](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/bishop.md) must stand on opposite-colored [squares](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/square.md). Black's pieces are placed opposite White's. Those limits give the variant its name, 960 possible setups. One legal arrangement, read from the a-file, is [knight](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/knight.md), rook, king, bishop, bishop, queen, knight, rook. Because memorized [opening](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/opening.md) lines are useless, you have to apply principles from the first move: develop, centralize, protect the king and connect the rooks. [Castling](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/castling.md) needs its own wording, since king and rooks start in different places. Each player may still castle once per game, and the guideline lists four ways it can happen: both pieces move, king and rook swap places, only the king moves, or only the rook moves. Whatever the start, the result is fixed. After castling towards the c-file the king is on c and the rook on d, and after castling towards the g-file the king is on g and the rook on f. The guideline sits outside the Laws proper, so check what an event announces. Also called: Fischer random chess. It sits close to [Horde chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/horde-chess.md). Horde chess is a variant in which White has a large mass of pawns instead of the usual army, while Black plays with the normal set of pieces, and Black tries to capture them all. It sits close to [Queenside castling](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/queenside-castling.md). Queenside castling is a move in which the king steps two squares toward the a-file rook and that rook jumps over to the square the king crossed, written 0-0-0 or O-O-O in notation. Also worth reading is [Half-move](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/half-move.md). A half-move, also called a ply, is a single turn by one side, so a full move in chess notation consists of two half-moves, one by White and one by Black. Knowing "Chess960" is the easy part; what to practice next depends on your rating, and the [improvement plans by rating band](https://georgelichess.com/improve.md) list the habits worth building at each level. ## Related terms - [Starting position](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/starting-position.md) - [Castling](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/castling.md) - [Chess variant](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/chess-variant.md) - [FEN](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fen.md) - [Rules of chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rules-of-chess.md) - [Opening principles](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/opening-principles.md) ## Guides that go further - [How to choose a chess coach](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-choose-a-chess-coach.md): What to decide first, the questions to ask, what a first lesson should show and the red flags to avoid. - [How much does chess coaching cost?](https://georgelichess.com/chess-coaching-cost.md): Published rates for private, group and subscription chess coaching, with the source and the date of each. - [The first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md): A game review, a read on your level and a written study plan from George Li. ## Sources - FIDE Laws of Chess (effective 1 January 2023) (Guidelines II.1 to II.3), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023 [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md) and George Li reviews your games and builds a study plan around them. Questions about lessons: write to hello@georgelichess.com. ## Related - [Starting position in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/starting-position.md) - [Castling in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/castling.md) - [Chess variant](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/chess-variant.md) - [FEN in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/fen.md) - [Rules of chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/rules-of-chess.md) - [Opening principles in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/opening-principles.md) - [Chess terms: Rules, notation and equipment](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/rules-notation.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)