The first Vivaldi Chess960 Tournament

Chess960 (or Fischerandom) is a variation of chess invented by the eleventh World Chess Champion, Bobby Fischer. Fischer felt that the current approach to chess produced lifelessness and a general decline in creativity. His solution was to shuffle the back row of pieces (with constraints to allow castling and preserve the opposing coloured bishop pairs), giving a total of 960 different starting positions. Many other solutions have been tried, but Fischer’s is thought to be the best so far. Although the concept is radical, actual play comes quite naturally. Chess960 offers players the chance to enjoy original, creative, and exciting games (without compromising the core elements of chess). It’s easy to learn, and most importantly, fun to play.