Freestyle chess, also known as chess960 or Fischer Random, is a chess variant. Learn about what it is, why it's played, and more.

The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour is a series of Chess960 tournaments in 2025 organized by Freestyle Chess Operations. It will consist of five "Grand Slam" tournaments following the format of the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge, held in 2024.Players will score points based on placement in each event. The player with the highest score at the end of the year will become …

5 days ago · The Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T Challenge, won by Carlsen, was a welcome and successful addition to the chess calendar in 2024. As Chess.com announced in December, 2025 is set to be the year of Chess960, with the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour kicking off in …

Jan 24, 2025 · What Is Freestyle Chess? Freestyle Chess allows players to use any resource at their disposal during a game, including chess engines, databases, and even collaboration with other players. It’s not about memorizing opening lines or mastering theoretical endgames—it’s about leveraging every tool available to make the best possible moves.

4 days ago · Freestyle Chess, also known as Fischer Random, radically reimagines the game by randomising the placement of back-rank pieces like the king, queen and bishops, leaving pawns untouched. This ...

Weissenhaus, December 2024 – The new World Chess Champion Gukesh Dommaraju will take part in the opening tournament of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 in Germany. The 18-year-old Indian made the commitment shortly after winning the title.

Experience the best chess players in the world at the most exclusive venues. Discover our top-class line-up and watch the masters of strategy compete against each other up close. You have a chance to qualify and be a part of these special tournaments.

Jan 25, 2025 · Freestyle chess is a variant of chess that was popularised by the legendary Bobby Fischer way back in 1996. It’s chess with a twist. In regular chess, positions of chess pieces on the back ranks are fixed: the rooks are stationed on the corners, the knights start on the b and g files, the bishops on the c and f files.

Freestyle Chess removes all opening theory and essentially ensures a level-playing field with no prior knowledge. This means, no more memorising 30 moves to achieve an advantage of +0.22, but rather using your analytical thinking, relying entirely on your creativity from move one.

The top four players from the Swiss tournament will advance to the knockout phase, which begins on 7 January. They will be joined by 12 members of the Freestyle Chess Players Club, selected by Freestyle Chess, to form a 16-player field.