Chess960 Position Generator
Tap once for a random legal Chess960 start position, with the SP number so you can announce it to the room. Every board sets up the same, nobody can argue.
Castling always ends with the king on g1 and the rook on f1 (kingside), or the king on c1 and the rook on d1 (queenside), wherever they started. Say this out loud before the first move and you will save yourself three arguments.
What is Chess960?
Chess960, also called Fischer Random, is ordinary chess with the back row shuffled. The pawns stay where they are, Black mirrors White exactly, and every rule you already know still applies. The only thing that changes is which piece starts on which square.
That one change kills opening preparation. Nobody can play fifteen memorised moves, so the strongest player in your club and the newest member both start thinking on move one. It is the single easiest way to make a club night feel fresh without teaching anybody a new game.
There are exactly 960 legal arrangements, which is where the name comes from. They are numbered 0 to 959, and that number is the useful part: say "position 356" and everyone in the room can set up the same board and check each other.
How to use it
- Tap Generate position once, in front of everyone, so nobody thinks you picked a favourite.
- Read out the position number and hold up the phone, or copy the letters onto a whiteboard.
- Everyone sets up their back row the same way. Black mirrors White, so the piece on a1 sits on a8.
- Announce the castling rule before the clocks start: king to g1 or c1, rook to f1 or d1.
- Play. If someone joins late, type the same SP number into the box and their board matches.
For a casual club night, one position for the whole evening works best. Bigger events usually draw a new position for each round, which is a good reason to keep this page open on the arbiter's phone.
Running a Chess960 tournament
Here is the part nobody tells you: Chess960 needs no special tournament software. Pairing and standings only care who won, lost or drew, not what the back rank looked like when the game started. So a Chess960 event is just a normal Swiss or round robin with one extra announcement at the start.
That means you can pair it with anything, including free Swiss tournament software. Generate the position here, announce it, and let the pairings run exactly as they would for standard chess. Our guide to running a Chess960 tournament walks through the whole evening, and the Swiss rounds calculator will tell you how many rounds to plan for.
Common questions
How many Chess960 starting positions are there?
Exactly 960, numbered 0 to 959. Every one of them keeps the two bishops on opposite coloured squares and the king somewhere between the two rooks. The pawns never move, and Black always mirrors White.
What is SP 518 in Chess960?
SP 518 is ordinary chess. It decodes to RNBQKBNR, the standard starting position, which is one of the 960 legal arrangements. If this generator hands you 518, your club just plays a normal game.
How does castling work in Chess960?
The king always finishes on g1 and the rook on f1 when castling kingside, and the king on c1 with the rook on d1 when castling queenside, no matter where they started. The squares in between must be empty and the king cannot pass through check. This is the one rule that causes arguments, so announce it before the first move.
Should every board use the same Chess960 position?
For a club night, yes. Generate one position, announce the SP number, and set every board the same way. It keeps the room fair and makes it easy to spot a board that was set up wrong. Serious events draw a new position for each round instead.
Do I need special software to run a Chess960 tournament?
No. Chess960 changes the opening position, not the tournament. Pairing software only records who won, lost or drew, so you run a Chess960 event as an ordinary Swiss or round robin and announce the position separately with a generator like this one.
Is this Chess960 generator free?
Yes, completely free with no signup and no account. It runs entirely in your browser, so you can open it on a phone at the club and hold it up to the room.
Now run the tournament
Announce the position here, then let ChessHost make the pairings and track the standings. Free plan, no credit card.
Start a free tournament