Chess From Position: Dive into Real Random Chess Positions!

Introduction

Bobby Fischer was, famously, very unhappy with the complete dominance of opening preparation in classical chess. He came up with Fischer Random chess to eliminate this and replace it with creativity and talent. Magnus Carlsen was so fed up of the whole preparation process for his World Championship defence that he decided to relinquish his title.

You and I may not be as highly rated as Carlsen or Fischer. But quite often I have found myself completely lost right out of the opening, because I didn't know the correct opening theory. At times like these, I wish I could just start a game directly in the middle-game, so I don't need to learn any openings and prepare against all the traps. I wish I could get more diverse games than I currently get from the two openings that I do know a tiny bit about.

If you are like me, I have great news for you! I present to you, Chess From Position

What is Chess From Position?

Chess From Position is a free website that generates positions from real games in the Lichess Open Database - specifically those games with Stockfish evaluations already available. The idea? Give you a chess position that you can immediately explore, analyze, or play from. By default, the tool provides a roughly equal position. But you can customize your search to get unbalanced positions if you want, and those arising from specific openings as well.

Key Features

1. Get a Random Position

Want a fun challenge or a quick start? With one click, you can load a random position from a real game that Stockfish evaluated as equal. Perfect for coaching sessions or solo studies.

2. Create a Game

The site provides a button to create an open challenge on Lichess. Create an Open Challenge and share the link to invite a friend to play the position. Perfect for friendly (or competitive) battles.

3. Search by Opening, Moves, and Evaluation

You can customize your position search using:

• Opening: Select a general opening family (e.g., "English Opening") or a specific opening (e.g., "English Opening: Symmetrical Variation").
• Number of Moves: Choose how deep into the game you want to start.
• Stockfish Evaluation: Search for positions where one side is better (+3 or -3, for example), or stick to roughly equal positions.

4. Explore the Position on the Board

Loaded a position? Go ahead - make some moves! Test ideas, explore plans, and dive into the position. You can flip the board and play as either Black or White.

5. Integrate Seamlessly with Lichess

One of the best parts of Chess From Position is how it works with Lichess. Once you load a position, you can:

• Open the Analysis Board to review the position with tools you know and love.
• Practice vs. Computer to bring up the Lichess practice board with hints
• Play Against AI with customizable engine strength and color choice.
• Create an Open Challenge and share the link to invite anyone to play the position.

Any changes you make to the position will get automatically carried over into Lichess with any of the options above.

6. FEN and PGN Support

Want to save or share the position? Copy the FEN to use anywhere, or grab the PGN of your moves to analyze later.

Who Can Benefit from Chess From Position?

This tool is for all chess lovers. Here are just a few ideas:

• Players Avoiding Opening Theory:
  Jump straight into the middle game, skipping the rote memorization of theory.
• Opening Explorers:
  Explore middlegame positions that arise from your favorite openings. Study pawn structures, motifs, and typical plans.
• Defensive Improvers:
  Start in positions where you’re worse and train your defensive skills to find resources under pressure.
• Odds Game Fans:
  Generate positions with non-zero evaluations (+3, for example) to create odds games to play against friends of different strengths.
• Tournament Organizers:
  Add spice to your tournament with interesting starting positions.

Try it out right away! Works on desktop and mobile https://chessfromposition.com