Fischer Random Contest: Guess The Starting Position And Win Prizes

Even if you’re not playing in the 2022 Fischer Random World Championship finals, you can still have a chance to win prizes!

The beauty of Fischer Random is in the name: the starting position is essentially random (with a few rules and parameters to keep things playable and fair). This means the players can begin the game in lots of different ways, 960 of them to be exact, leading to fascinating and unpredictable games.

How To Win

If you’ve got a sixth sense or fancy yourself a chess Nostradamus, we’ve got the perfect contest for you: Simply set up your board in what looks like a realistic Fischer Random position, and submit your FEN using this form. If your position is played in the final match, you win!

How To Enter

Creating your perfect Fischer Random position is easy using the Analysis feature. To learn more about FEN, then check here.

• Set up the board in any way you want here (making sure to follow the Chess960 guidelines below).
• Once you're happy with your position, copy the FEN code. It should look something like this: bnnrkbqr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/BNNRKBQR w KQkq
• Submit your FEN code (and Chess.com username, so we can contact you if you win) using the form below or by clicking the link here.
• Make sure you send in your entry before October 25, 8 a.m. Pacific Time.

Please note that there's a limit of one submission per person; if you submit multiple starting positions, only your first submission will be counted.

To make things easier and quicker, you're allowed to only submit one side of the board using the white pieces (as the other side will be mirrored).

Prizes

If your position is played in the final match: A one-year Diamond membership.

With four games played in the final match, this gives you a 4/960 (or 1 in 240) chance of guessing correctly.

A Chess.com account is not required for participation but is needed to be eligible for prizes.

How do you choose a Fischer Random/960 position?

There are some basic rules to keep in mind when setting up your board:

• Pawns start where they should, but the other pieces can be shuffled anywhere on the back rank.
• White's and Black's minor and major pieces must be placed on the first and last rank, respectively.
• White's and Black's position must be mirrored. For instance, if the white queen is on a1, the black queen should be on a8.
• The two bishops of each player must be placed on opposite-colored squares.
• The king must be positioned between the two rooks. This means that the king will never be on the a1 or h1 square for White and a8 or h8 for Black.

For more info, check out our Chess960 reference guide here.

Please make sure you submit your positions by October 25, 8 a.m. Pacific Time (the start of the tournament). We're looking forward to seeing your ideas!

Note: This contest is void in all areas where prohibited by state, municipal, or federal law.

Procedures For Contacting And Announcing Winners, And Giving Out Prizes

We will be in touch with winners through Messages on Chess.com, or via the e-mail provided in their submission.

Contact will be made within one calendar week after the contest ends.

If prizes are given out continuously throughout an event, contact will be made one week after the event ends.

In contests where winners are picked randomly from chats on Twitch, YouTube, and Chess.com., everyone who gave the correct answer will be entered into a raffle using software that will ensure an impartial and random selection of winners.

By participating in the event, you are consenting to Chess.com using your name/image for purpose of administration, prize fulfillment, use in a publicly available winners list, and related Chess.com event promotion.

NB: If you have received no contact after a week, you can claim your prize by contacting [email protected].