Learn · Chapter 1. What Is Chess960
Castling-960
Castling-960 is what trips up even experienced players. Memorize the key point: wherever the king and rook start, after castling they land on the classical squares. Kingside — king on g1, rook on f1; queenside — king on c1, rook on d1. The starting squares mean nothing, the final squares mean everything. The conditions are the usual ones: neither the king nor the rook has moved, the path is clear, and the king doesn't pass through attacked squares.
There's exactly one gesture in the app: drag the king straight ONTO your rook. Not "two squares sideways" like you're used to in classical chess — onto the rook. That removes all the confusion: you've shown which rook you're castling with — the system does the rest. Learn the gesture now so you don't waste a single second on it in a game.
From theory to the board. King on b1, rooks on a1 and h1: an unfamiliar position, but the rule is the same. Castle kingside — drag the king onto the rook on h1. And don't be put off that the king has to walk half the board: in 960 that's business as usual.
The king raced from b1 to g1. See — one rule, same final squares.
This is a preview — the full interactive lesson is in the app.
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