Thursday: 1st Chess.com Chess960 Championship

Tired of opening theory but still want to play for great prizes? Then we have good news. We're hosting the first Chess.com Chess960 Championship on January 4 where you can win a ticket to the Bobby Fischer Memorial in March in Reykjavik and play in the Chess960 tournament that will be held on Fischer's birthday.

Tournament details

The Chess.com Chess960 Championship will be held on January 4 at 10 a.m. Pacific. It's for titled players only.

It will be a nine-round Swiss with a time control of four minutes plus two seconds increment per move.

In case of a tie for first place between two players, the following tiebreak rules apply:

1. Mutual score
2. Median-Buchholz
3. Number of black games
4. Sonneborn-Berger

Prizes

• First prize: Flight to Reykjavik plus three hotel nights to participate in the Fischerrandom tournament on March 9
• $400 for second
• $250 for third
• $150 for fourth
• $75 for fifth
• 3 copies of David Llada's "The Thinkers" (given away during the live broadcast)

The tournament is open to any titled player. Just make sure you're logged in and join the tournament before starting time.

The winner of the Chess.com Chess960 Championship will have his or her flight plus three hotel nights and entry to the Fischerrandom tournament on  March 9 covered!

The Fischerrandom tournament will be held during the Reykjavik Open. On the occasion of what would have been Bobby Fischer's 75th birthday, the schedule now includes a rest day on March 9 when a Fischerrandom (Chess960) tournament will be played.

This "Fischer Random Cup" will be a nine-round Swiss with a time control of 10 minutes + three-second increment per move. The prize fund is €5,350 ($6,383) with a first prize of €2,000 ($2,386). (More information can be found in our earlier announcement.)

Don't miss the first Chess.com Chess960 Championship on January 4, 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. New York, 7 p.m. Central Europe. The tournament will be streamed live with commentary on Chess.com/tv by Chess960 expert GM Yasser Seirawan and IM Danny Rensch.