🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Sat, May 27, 2017 12:03 PM UTC:
I think the main reason Chess960 (Fisher Random Chess) works is that it is still otherwise Chess. Adding randomization to another variant, such as Sac Chess or Gross Chess, seems like overkill. We are not going to live long enough to see significant opening theory develop for these games, not even if one of them replaced Chess in popularity today. So, even if there is a good chance of these games becoming popular and developing extensive opening theory, that would be a problem for later generations to deal with. And maybe they would handle it by slightly tweaking the game or replacing it with another variant. I also agree with the points about a fixed position being advantageous for displaying the game, whether in movies or in your home. It gives a frame of reference that people wouldn't have with a random setup.
I think the main reason Chess960 (Fisher Random Chess) works is that it is still otherwise Chess. Adding randomization to another variant, such as Sac Chess or Gross Chess, seems like overkill. We are not going to live long enough to see significant opening theory develop for these games, not even if one of them replaced Chess in popularity today. So, even if there is a good chance of these games becoming popular and developing extensive opening theory, that would be a problem for later generations to deal with. And maybe they would handle it by slightly tweaking the game or replacing it with another variant. I also agree with the points about a fixed position being advantageous for displaying the game, whether in movies or in your home. It gives a frame of reference that people wouldn't have with a random setup.