Larry Evans
Blitz Fischer Random?
Is playing Fischer Random (Chess 960) at high speed a good idea?Fischer Random Chess
Bobby Fischer, the 1972 World Champion and arguably the best player in chess history designed a variant of chess that was not very popular during his time, but has gain so much popularity this century that there's even a Fischer Random World Chess Championship. Unfortunately, they do not give credit to Fischer anymore and renamed this variant of chess Chess 960 (as there are 960 possible starting positions) or Freestyle Chess (perhaps called so as there's no opening theory for this variant of the game).
An illustrative game of Fischer Random
On lichess, Fischer Random is called Chess 960 and there are numerous Arena tournaments every day where you can participate in Fischer Random events. Bobby Fischer, in a radio interview just a few years before his death, said that he has mixed feelings about his variant of chess being played at high speed. While being pleased that it grew in popularity, Fischer said that playing his variant of chess at fast time controls does not allow one to appreciate the true beauty of the game. Below I include a video link to a Fischer Random game, where I recently beat a player with a bullet rating of 2440, while his Fischer Random rating is nearly 500 points lower at 1972 (curiously the same as the year when Fischer beat Spassky to become World Chess Champion).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhFpEn2Fi_w
Verdict on Fischer Random
Considering that it was Bobby Fischer who designed "Chess 960/Freestyle Chess" and leaving aside what he said outside of chess, do you think they should revert back to the original name of this chess variant? As far as time control is concerned, do you think that it is meaningful to play 5 0 Fischer Random games, or do you think that it's better to play it at longer time controls, giving both players ample opportunity to study the position before making their 1st move?
