Fischer Random Tournament — Haarlem Chess Café

​We're back, with a twist. This time we're playing Fischer Random (also known as Chess960): the pieces on the back row get shuffled into one of 960 possible starting positions, the same for both players. Your memorised openings are suddenly worth nothing, and everyone has to think for themselves from move one.

​That makes it the most level playing field in chess, which is exactly why it suits a mixed group like ours. Never played it before? Perfect, neither has most of the room. We'll walk through the couple of rules that differ before we start.

​Same setup as last time: 10-minute rapid games, Swiss format, so nobody gets knocked out and everyone plays every round. Expect around 5 games over the evening.

​The winner takes home a 1-month chess.com Platinum membership. Bragging rights included at no extra charge.

​📅 Friday 25 September · 18:00
📍 Locael Centraal, Haarlem (right next to Haarlem station, north side at Kennemerplein)

​No preparation needed, no pressure — just show up and play. Feel free to bring a friend, boards and clocks are taken care of.