The Moldovan capital of Chisinau will host the SET Freestyle Cup, a Chess960 tournament, on March 6-7, 2026. Organized by the Moldovan Chess Federation and supported by the SET real estate agency, the event features top grandmasters in the unpredictable Fischer chess format. Chess enthusiasts are invited to attend and experience high-level competition.
The SET Freestyle Cup will take place at 13/3 Tighina Street in Chisinau, drawing fans of Fischer chess, also known as Chess960. This format, invented by former world champion Robert James Fischer following his 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky, was formalized in 1996. It randomizes the back-rank piece placement while adhering to specific rules: the king positioned between the rooks for castling, bishops on opposite-colored squares, black's setup mirroring white's, and pawns in their standard positions. This setup yields 960 possible starting arrangements, promoting intuition over memorized openings.
Fischer described the variant as a means "not to destroy chess, but to preserve its essence, and so become honest." The first world championship in this format occurred in 2001, won by Hungarian grandmaster Peter Leko, with events now held under FIDE auspices since 2019. Recent popularity surged after a 2024 "Freestyle Chess" tournament organized by German philanthropist Jan Henrik Büttner, featuring a $200,000 prize fund. Magnus Carlsen, the 16th world champion, selected Fischer chess for that event, structuring it as a round-robin rapid tournament followed by elimination matches with standard time controls.
The Chisinau tournament boasts a strong field, including grandmasters Viktor Bologan (FIDE rating 2484), Ivan Skitsko (2421), Yegor Lashkin (2381), Vladimir Khamitsevich (2379), and Vasile Sanduliak (2299). International masters Julian Baltag (2323) and Ruslan Soltanich (2254) will compete, alongside FIDE masters Semyon Shapochnik (2263), Alexander Baranchuk (2220), and Dmitry Gubin (2122).
Mikhail Alexandrov, vice-president of the Moldovan Chess Federation and director of SET real estate agency, stated that the SET Freestyle Cup is "not just a tournament, but a celebration of pure intellect and creative freedom." He added, "We bring together the best minds who compete in Fischer chess. In this format, traditional theory gives way to strategy and genuine intuition."
Organizers encourage chess lovers to join, immersing in the atmosphere of elite play and the format's unpredictability. Logos Press serves as the information partner.
