Just 6 juniors today, well it’s Easter break and the sun’s shining, what more do kids want?? End of term certificates that’s what! Not quite end of term but just in case they can’t come next week, next Saturday the 12th, will be the last before Easter break, we will resume on the 26th April.
Todays theme was something different, getting away from traditional openings, this was a brain teaser, Chess 960 or random chess.
The 11th World Champion Robert James Fischer was the most famous advocate of the idea of shuffling the back-rank pieces in 1996 to deal with the emphasis on opening theory. 960 is the number of possible starting positions.
The starting position in Chess960 is random, but there are a few requirements.
Bishops MUST be on opposite-coloured squares.
The king MUST be placed on a square between the two rooks.
Black’s pieces are placed opposite White’s pieces.
Aside from the starting position, the only other difference between Chess960 and chess is the rules for castling. Castling is slightly different since the rooks can start the game on several squares.
Here are the guidelines:
- After you castle in Chess960, the castled position will look the same as in regular chess.
- Just as in regular chess, the king and rook must not have moved.
- The squares between the king and the rook that is castling MUST be vacant, and the squares the king crosses must not be in check.
One of 960 possible starting setups. Black’s setup always mirrors White’s.
One semi final in our three-way tie was played today
Gagan 1 – 0 Michal
If Gagan can beat Constance next week he will win the Gold medal, if Constance wins, she will need to beat Michal for her to get her hands on the Gold medal, Michal is still got Silver or Bronze to play for.
So watch this space!
Not long to wait now!
