Editing Chess960 (section)

==History==
{{see|Displacement chess}}

===Van Zuylen van Nijevelt's early contributions===
The concept of random chess, also known as shuffle chess, was first proposed by the Dutch chess enthusiast [[Philip Julius van Zuylen van Nijevelt]] (1743-1826). In his renowned treatise on chess, ''La Supériorité aux Échecs'', published in 1792, Van Zuylen van Nijevelt articulated his disdain for the repetitive patterns often found in standard chess openings. He proposed the idea of randomizing the starting positions of the main pieces to create a vast array of distinct situations, eliminating the possibility of pre-game memorization or extensive opening theory. Van Zuylen van Nijevelt's book, with its full title ''La Supériorité aux Échecs mise à la portée de tout le monde, et particulièrement des dames qui aiment cet amusement'' ("Superiority in Chess brought into the reach of all, and particularly of ladies who love that amusement"), gained significant popularity and was reprinted several times. Its influence extended beyond the Dutch-speaking world, as it was subsequently translated into multiple languages, spreading the idea of randomizing the initial positions of chess pieces to a wider audience. This early conception of random chess by Van Zuylen van Nijevelt laid the foundation for Chess960.

Van Zuylen van Nijevelt's innovative approach to chess not only offered a solution to the repetitive nature of traditional openings but also paved the way for the exploration of chess variants that deviate from the conventional starting position. His quote within ''La Supériorité aux Échecs'' emphasizes the core principle behind random chess, stating, "This produces a huge number of different situations, so that no one can study them beforehand," reflecting his desire to introduce an element of unpredictability and originality into the game of chess. The legacy of Van Zuylen van Nijevelt's contributions to the evolution of chess remains significant, with his early insights serving as a cornerstone for the development of various randomized chess variants, including Chess960.<ref>Gligorić (2002), p. 36.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.xs4all.nl/~timkr/chess2/diary_7.htm |title=Open chess diary 121-140 |work=xs4all.nl}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UBRBAAAAYAAJ&q=La+r%C3%A9gence La Régence: journal des échecs, Volume 3, La partie aux pièces déplacées] (year 1851 page 299-301)</ref>

===Development and further evolution===
The pioneering work of Van Zuylen van Nijevelt found continued development through the efforts of his nephew, the [[Jonkheer]] Elias van der Hoeven (1778-1854), a [[Dutch people|Dutch]] diplomat. Van der Hoeven took the concept of shuffle chess further, potentially sharing his insights with [[Aaron Alexandre]], evident from Alexandre's incorporation of the theory into his Encyclopédie des échecs in 1837.

The earliest documented games of shuffle chess were played between Van der Hoeven and Alexandre in Mannheim in 1842, with Alexandre emerging as the victor with a score of 3-0. One of these games is preserved in Sissa, the Netherlands' first long-standing chess journal, demonstrating an initial position with two advanced pawns on each side. A later game played by Van der Hoeven was against Baron von der Lasa (1818-1899), adhering more closely to the contemporary rules of random chess, except for the monochromatic bishop pairs.

In 1851, Van der Hoeven visited Willem Verbeek, the editor-in-chief of Sissa. Verbeek and Hancock, Verbeek's chess companion in Amsterdam during the 1850s, delved into shuffle chess, with their initial findings documented in the pages of the Sissa journal.

Van der Hoeven's modifications to the original concept of random chess were published in Alexandre's Encyclopédie in 1837 and later republished in Sissa by an individual known as T. Scheidius. This variant began to be referred to as "schaakspel, naar de wijze van jhr. Van der Hoeven" or "schaakspel à la Van der Hoeven." 

Following Van der Hoeven's visit, the Sissa Chess Society received an invitation from the Philidor Chess Society in Amsterdam, in collaboration with Van der Hoeven, to organize a shuffle chess tournament. The aim was to promote the dissemination and popularity of the chess variant attributed to Van der Hoeven. Originally intended as a tournament among the eight prize winners of the 1851 Philidor-organized event, logistical challenges led to invitations being extended to other chess societies. Ultimately, a tournament with seven players from Amsterdam, along with the 74-year-old Van der Hoeven, was organized. Notable participants included [[Maarten van 't Kruijs]] (Philidor), J. Seligmann (Philidor), H. Kloos (La Bourdonnais), M.M. Coopman, and F.G. Hijmans / S. Heijmans, supplemented by Mohr and J. van Praag. Van ’t Kruijs emerged as the winner of the tournament, reinforcing the growing sentiment that the removal of opening theory allows true chess talent to shine.

===Fischer's influence and popularization===
Fischer's modification "imposes certain restrictions, arguably an improvement on the anarchy of the fully randomized game in which one player is almost certain to start at an advantage".<ref>Pritchard (2000), p. 18.</ref> Fischer started to develop his new version of chess after the [[Fischer–Spassky (1992 match)|1992 return match with Boris Spassky]]. The result was the formulation of the rules of Fischer Random Chess in September 1993, introduced formally to the public on June 19, 1996, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.<ref>"It was the world chess champion Robert James Fischer who, in 1996, formulated precise rules for randomized chess ... . Though still not so well-known, this invention of Bobby Fischer is already raising reasonable hopes among experts that chess will remain a mass game for the foreseeable future." {{harvcol|Gligorić|2002|p=5}}. "Despite his extremely long absence from competition, he [Fischer] won it [the 1992 return match with Spassky] with a good score of 10–5 in decisive games. It was then that Fischer began to think of reforming the game. The result of his hard work over several years is Fischerandom Chess—and plans for exhibition matches of a new kind..." {{harvcol|Gligorić|2002|p=8}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessvariants.com/diffsetup.dir/fischerh.html |title=The birth of Fischer Random Chess |author=Eric van Reem |publisher=[[The Chess Variant Pages]] |access-date=January 4, 2016}}</ref><ref>Gligorić (2002), p. 9.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tasc.nl/frandom/fischermove.html |title=Bobby Fischer makes his move in Argentina |access-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-date=January 23, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040123191115/http://www.tasc.nl/frandom/fischermove.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rules of FischerRandom Chess|url=http://home.att.ne.jp/moon/fischer/list/p_20/20_0.htm|website=www.home.att.ne.jp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021022031446/http://home.att.ne.jp/moon/fischer/list/p_20/20_0.htm |archive-date=October 22, 2002 |language=en}}</ref>

Fischer's goal was to eliminate what he considered the complete dominance of openings preparation in classical chess, replacing it with creativity and talent. In a situation where the starting position was random it would be impossible to fix every move of the game. Since the "opening book" for 960 possible opening systems would be too difficult to devote to memory, the players must create every move originally. From the first move, both players must devise original strategies and cannot use well-established patterns.<ref>"In Fischerandom Chess the normal patterns that a grandmaster has been trained to recognise are missing." —Matthias Wuellenweber {{harvcol|Gligorić|2002|p=96}}; "I cannot use my vast experience to reach middlegame positions where I already know the typical plans." —{{hair space}}[[Artur Yusupov (chess player)|Artur Yusupov]] {{harvcol|Gligorić|2002|p=97}}.</ref><ref>"Preparation is practically impossible and players will give it up as a bad job. Devotees of fianchettoes will seldom obtain their favourite opening position. A competitor's preference for the king or queen's pawn opening has to be put aside and he must, like a born again chessplayer, orient himself without established opening knowledge." —{{hair space}}Gligorić {{harvcol|Gligorić|2002|p=94}}</ref> Fischer believed that eliminating memorized book moves would level the playing field.

During summer 1993, Bobby Fischer visited [[László Polgár]] and his family in Hungary. All of the Polgar sisters ([[Judit Polgár]], [[Susan Polgar]], and [[Sofia Polgar]]) played many games of Fischer Random Chess with Fischer. At one point Sofia beat Fischer three games in a row.  Fischer was not pleased when the father, László, showed Fischer an old chess book that described what appeared to be a forerunner of Fischer Random Chess.  The book was written by [[Izidor Gross]] and published in 1910. Fischer then changed the rules of his variation in order to make it different.<ref>Brady, Frank.''Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall—from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness''. Broadway Paperbacks, 2012. pp. 260–262. {{ISBN|978-0307463913}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/12/bobby-fischer-s-pathetic-endgame/302634/ |last=Chun |first=Rene |title=Bobby Fischer's Pathetic Endgame |work=The Atlantic |date=December 12, 2002 }}</ref> There are games of shuffle chess recorded as early as 1852 but Fischer is generally credited with fixing the colors of bishops alongside king placement between the rooks and defining the castling process.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.chess.com/blog/introuble2/la-superiorite-aux-echecs-the-first-chess-book-of-endgame-theory-by-van-zuylen-van-nyevelt |title=The first chess book of endgame theory by van Zuylen van Nyevelt|website=www.chess.com|date=June 24, 2018 }}</ref> In a later radio interview, Fischer explained his reasoning for proposing a revision of shuffle chess, rather than a game with new pieces (and a larger board), as the “new chess“:
{{Blockquote|text=I love chess, and I didn't invent Fischerandom chess to destroy chess. I invented Fischerandom chess to keep chess going. Because I consider the old chess is dying, it really is dead. A lot of people come up with other rules of chess-type games, [[Capablanca chess|with 10×8 boards, new pieces]], and all kinds of things. I'm really not interested in that. I want to keep the old chess flavor. I want to keep the old chess game. But just making a change so the starting positions are mixed, so it's not degenerated down to memorization and prearrangement like it is today.<ref>{{citation |title= 9LX creator Bobby Fischer says 'I want to keep the old chess flavor.'|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUsGwPv-L4U |website=[[YouTube]]| date=May 10, 2022 }}</ref>|source=Radio Interview, June 27, 1999 (see 2:18–3:03) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110606190445/http://www.geocities.jp/bobbby_b/mp3/F_08_3.MP3] (also see here 39:04–39:49) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2344&v=eMTbSfBvC7c]}}