World Champions on Chess960

One of the resources I discovered while working on the previous post, More from Moscow 2014, was the Russian Wikipedia page Chess 960; (that link is for the ru.wikipedia.org page fed to translate.google.com). As usual with computer translations, the text is 75% comprehensible, 25% nonsense, but the meaning still shines through. Unfortunately, the automatic translation stopped at the beginning of the most interesting section, 'Professional opinions about chess players Fischer', so I fed the rest paragraph by paragraph into the translator. Here's what I got.

[Start of translation]

Professional opinions about chess players Fischer: Opinions of professionals and amateurs of chess Fischer random chess expressed different - from enthusiastic to extremely negative. But the most well-known players refers to them as is evident from their statements, at least cautiously optimistic. There were criticisms of the features of the rules. For example, some players were unhappy professionals random selection starting position for each game, and they expressed offers to hold tournaments chess Fischer, in which the initial position was chosen to be one for the whole tournament, and detects and reports the players in advance (for a few days or weeks before the tournament). Such rules would allow pre-prepare for the tournament, reducing the time spent thinking about opening moves. At the same time, the effect of the failure of opening theory would remain - for a short time to undertake a full analysis of the position can not be willy-nilly would confine common basting.

Anatoly Karpov:

Do "Fischer Chess" future is hard to say. Now hold separate tournaments rules Fischer. The idea is, but how it will be received in the future is hard to say because there are pluses and minuses.

Plus quite obvious: at the time of computers Fischer tries to get away from home training and believes that in this way he removes the importance of a set of a team working with computer

Actually, to "Fischer Chess" prepared especially not necessary. Endgame positions and endgame knowledge and "Fischer Chess" can also be used with even greater success. But as the opening theory, there is, of course, everything is broken. And here the basic principles - who understands better and faster and decides who intuition who are better prepared for battle. Therefore do not need to prepare especially, the main thing - to be in excellent condition, to head to work, legs, hands moving.

Garry Kasparov: According to Garry Kasparov at chess Fischer has a future, mainly because they give a person a more equal position to play with the computer - the computer will not be able to rely on accumulated centuries debut base. Nevertheless, the ex-champion predicted major upheavals when introducing new chess.

But my main comment is new chess - a dream Losers ! After all, everyone thinks about Losers honors that he crams the book and why it's best estimates . Those who are just too lazy to learn the theory , do not realize that the so -called " Fischer Random Chess " sharply increase the gap between the very strong and chess grandmasters just strong. After all, today a certain alignment between these players is because they are approximately equal the opening stage . Each learned his option and may, at its "own territory" fight successfully even with the world champion.

Vladimir Kramnik: Vladimir Kramnik offered his version of reducing the effect of home preparation and analysis of individual computer systems debut: the draw debuts at which the initial position of the classical random, but also with certain restrictions that exclude obviously dubious beginning, given the first few moves. Then the players play as usual. About chess Kramnik Fischer said:

I played a little bit in the "Fischer - rand ." Of course, this is completely knocks opening preparation . But the problem is that you lose some games harmony . It is difficult to explain it in words , but when the starting position elephant standing on h8, the knight on g8 rook on f8, then lost sense of aesthetics of chess. By the way , I asked players - many have the same feeling that something " is not " somehow ugly ... And fans are accustomed to the beauty of interaction figures under normal initial position .

Therefore, if we want to clean up the opening preparation , it seems to me to toss a successful exit . In this case study of the theory began to go in a more general way: hardly a chess player would be forced to study hard variants with a large number of branches anywhere in Benoni protection simply because they can not remember . Rather, people will learn debuts with a positional point of view: the general plans , strategy. Unlikely to be a lot of parties where chess 25 moves spend one minute. This will cause more people to play the board .

Boris Spassky:

To chess Fischer positive attitude, because it's the same rules of the game, you just freed from theory and doing. By the way, the idea of gently reorganize classical chess were also to Fischer. What can I say, if my uncle called: let's change places with elephants and horses, all will be fine. Fischer, however, there are a number of ingenious inventions - a clock, for example. Generally, it is in contrast to the current champions, always fighting for the quality of play.

Mark Taimanov:

Perhaps " Fischer Chess " - the panacea for computer dominance in the game, return to the improvisational creativity. With classic chess nothing happens, nothing will happen as with the story. Lovers , as before, will enjoy the works of the great masters , studying the games of past years ... And it will , of course , a little different game. Offer Fischer overcomes monstrous zakompyuterizirovannost debut stage , overcome routine. Do you like to play two famous grandmasters and 26 stroke repeat everything they recorded in the files of your computer? This is - what? Fighting ? Creativity ? Now chess theory develops polushazhkami somewhere between 20 and 25 strokes . No new policies , no new ideas , no new systems ... Innovation will begin the game of chess with the 2nd course , not the 26th. But, as I imagine , somewhere in the course of 12 starts regular chess game chess on ordinary laws. I think Fischer Random Chess - Chess XXI century!.

[End of translation]

I was surprised to see that all of the comments were at least mildly supportive of chess960. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. The anonymous authors of the Wikipedia page have no incentive to include negative comments.

As for Taimanov's comment about 'monstrous zakompyuterizirovannost debut stage', when I split the long word into two, I got 'zakompyuteriz ation'. That makes a little more sense.