tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011690536420808420.post7576437468973079040..comments2024-02-20T07:50:13.558+01:00Comments on Chess960 (FRC): Deferring the Castling OptionMark Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10101044127493771263noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011690536420808420.post-1736771061745389662012-10-06T20:34:41.095+02:002012-10-06T20:34:41.095+02:00Castling differences in chess960-FRC is one of the...Castling differences in chess960-FRC is one of the two most fascinating contrasts with traditional chess1 (the other being the many differences in how to fight for the center).<br /><br />In the FRC context, "Castling" is a single word that represents multiple issues that are fundamental to strong chess play.<br /><br />"How shall I design my king fort for safety?"<br /><br />...is just one inseparable side of a many-sided dice which necessarily interacts with questions such as....<br /><br />"How shall I develop my pieces to ensure they are coordinated and are fighting for the center?".<br /><br />These questions sets are more difficult to answer in most chess960 setups than they are in chess1.<br />I think this extra difficulty is one reason why some chess players have an initially negative reaction to FRC when they try it.<br /><br />Yet it is that higher level of difficulty that indicates the riches of general chess that are hidden from us by our traditional exclude-all-others attitude about start positions.<br /><br />Yes it is easy and comfortable to have all our knights start on the squares that just happen to make N-B3 the standard move, but there could be so much more to opening theory.<br /><br />We should pick one nontraditional setup and reuse it frequently, until lots of opening systems and variations have been analyzed, recorded, published, and tested in rated tournament play. That would take a couple decades.<br />Annointing a second stable setup would be better than rolling dice to determine the start position moments before every FRC game; because that approach prevents growth.<br /><br />** Discard the 'Random' from Fischer Random Chess!<br /><br />Thanks.<br />GeneMGeneMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17760103001033379456noreply@blogger.com