| Games in Michigan |
This is the home of gamesinmichigan.com, a web page dedicated to games
that occur in the state of Michigan. The site is a non-professional, hobby, site, created for the purpose of helping people locate game opportunities in the state of Michigan.
As of October 1, this site is going "down" for some improvements. Visit the links page for other resources.Click here to see planned improvements Send questions or suggestions to webmaster@gamesinmichigan.com.
|  |
| Chess960 |
| (Fischer
Random Chess) |
(Note: This is not intended to be a complete description of Chess960.
This page is intended to be a brief introduction to Chess960 for people playing
in the
Variant
Tournament
to be held September 28, 2008, at the
Carrel Chess Club
in Canton, Michigan. For complete information about Chess960 , follow the links at the
bottom of this page.)
Bobby Fischer thought Chess had a problem. Players had memorized openings so deeply that they gained a tremendous
advantage, not necessarily because they understood Chess all that well, but
because they could memorize several levels deep of the “right” moves at the
beginning of the game. At the master
level, games could go 20 moves or more before an innovative move. This seemed contrary to the spirit of
the game, and so he proposed that the pieces be rearranged in a random fashion
so that memorization of opening moves was impossible.
He created a set of rules for rearranging the pieces that guaranteed the
essential elements of Chess were retained. The bishops must begin on opposite colored squares. The king must begin between the two
rooks. Other than that, any piece
can go anywhere. He called this
variation “Fischer Random Chess” and he predicted that in time, it would become
the dominant form of Chess played in the world.
As the saying goes, stories of the death of Chess have been greatly exaggerated.Meanwhile, fans of the game invented
by Fischer wanted to disassociate his name from the new game. There are 960 possible ways to
rearrange the pieces using Fischer’s rules, and so the name Chess960 was
selected as the more or less official name for this Chess variant.
While Chess960 is nowhere near as popular as Chess, it does have adherents. There are events held, including an
annual World Championship, held in
Mainz,
Germany.
Mainz Chess Classic
There is also a computer World Championship.The game provides a challenge similar to Chess, but where tactical skill
is emphasized, because memorization of opening moves is absolutely useless.
Picking a starting position using one die
The following method can be used to generate a legal starting position. Set up the white pieces as follows.
1. Place the dark squared bishop.Roll a die.Count the black squares, starting
with the A file as 1, C file as 2, etc.If a 5 or 6 is rolled, reroll.
2. Place the light squared bishop.
Roll again.The B file is 1, D is 2, etc.
3. Place the first knight.There are six open squares now.Roll a die. Count from the left,
starting at the first open square.
Place the knight at the square indicated by the die roll.
4. Place the second knight.Now there are five squares.Roll a die and reroll if you roll 6.Place the knight where indicated.
5. Place the Queen.There are four squares for the Queen.Roll a die and reroll and 5 or 6.
6. Now there are three squares.Place the king in the center of these squares,
and the rooks on the two remaining squares.
7 .Set up the black pieces across
from the white pieces. You are now
ready for play.
More information (If there is a resource for Chess960 you would like to
see listed here, email dave@gamesinmichigan.com.)
Wikipedia: Chess960
Chessvariants.org
Fischer
Random Chess
Internet Chess Club
64squar.es
Computer Play -Chess960 is supported by the Fritz chess engine. the Fritz chess engine.