Chess 960

I'm still new to the site and I was looking through the tournaments and I noticed several that were Chess 960 tournaments. Could someone please explain to me what the difference between a regular chess game and a Chess 960 game is? Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks!

It's a version of chess where the back row pieces are placed in a random order instead of a set one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_960

The main idea being that it takes opening preparation and database use largely out of the equation and adds an interesting new dynamic to the game.

It's worth trying, the only caution I'd give is that it would be good to understand the castling rules first as they are a little different from (or rather, an extension of) the standard rules.

Where is chess 960 located on the site?  Stupid me can't find it.

When creating a new game from the Play Chess menu in Online Chess, the second option is the type of game you want to play.  From the drop-down list, you can choose 'Standard Chess' or 'Chess960'.  

You can then leave it as an open challenge, or type the name of someone you wish to play.

You can also see if anyone has an open game challenge by clicking on 'Open Seeks' from the Play Chess menu and look at the names of the games available to play.

A Chess960 game will have an icon that looks like this: 

You can also look at the Tournament List and see if there are any Chess960 tournaments... look for the icon.

Thanks for the reply.

You're welcome!

oh... I thought that chess 960 was some sort of experience/rating level. I have heard of this kind of chess but I've never played it.

I am playing a 960 game now; what a weird game.  Don't know about this!