PARIS (Reuters) – Do you find chess boring? Then maybe you should try Chess960, also known as Freestyle chess, a variant of the game that prioritizes creativity over preparation, and is supported by chess legend Magnus Carlsen.
Chess960 was invented by former world champion Bobby Fischer in 1996 and has been gaining popularity after a tournament held at the Weissenhaus Luxury Resort, the same place that hosted the G7 Foreign Minister summit in 2022.
In Chess960/Freestyle chess, the pieces on the back rank are shuffled, making computer-based preparations that often lead to dull openings irrelevant.
The G.O.A.T. Challenge featured eight players, including Carlsen and seven grandmasters handpicked by the Norwegian champion.
While the International Chess Federation (FIDE) has organized world championships in 2019 and 2022, with another one scheduled for this year, they were all played in rapid time control.
The tournament came to fruition after Carlsen agreed to participate following a conversation at the chess World Cup in Qatar with German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner.
The event, which had a prize pool of $200,000, included a confessional booth, extra cameras, and heart rate monitors for the players, and for the first time, Freestyle chess was played in standard (long) time control.
The tournament took place in February and resulted in a notable increase in the number of games played on the two main online platforms, Chess.com and Lichess.
Chess.com reported to Reuters that in January, 493,500 games were played, while February saw 628,000 games being played, with a peak of 27,835 games on Feb. 16, the day the G.O.A.T. tournament concluded.
Lichess Chief Executive Officer Thibault Duplessis informed Reuters that 605,000 Chess960 games were played in February, compared to 502,000 in January.
Carlsen emerged victorious by defeating American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in the final.
“This tournament was a dream come true for me,” Carlsen expressed to reporters.
“Regardless of the tournament’s outcome, I would have said that, but I truly felt that all the players enjoyed this format and will eagerly return. It was a joy from start to finish, and I am excited for the next one.”
“My vision is a Grand Slam of Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenges on five continents,” Buettner stated.
“I aim to host five tournaments each year with the same rules and significantly increased prize money. With a million dollar prize pool at each tournament, we anticipate great participation.”
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky disclosed to Reuters that the governing body is considering expanding Freestyle chess over-the-board tournaments and establishing a specific ranking system for the discipline.
“We are exploring several options, including the possible introduction of official ratings,” Sutovsky stated.
“While we have previously organized a 960 world championship, we are now looking into enhancing the discipline further.”
If Buettner’s initiative to launch a Freestyle chess tour materializes, players like American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, the 2022 world champion who was excluded from the G.O.A.T. tournament, are eager to join the competition.
“You might wonder why I am not participating in the event,” Nakamura acknowledged.
“FIDE recently organized a Fischer Random World Chess Championship, which I won by defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi. Prior winners include Wesley So. This event was organized by a private sponsor in Germany, giving Magnus the authority to select the participants.”
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
