4 ms·

Chess definitely needs a shakeup, but it's unclear where it can come from. Chess960 (Fischer Random) has never really taken off. Maybe what we need is to run

Chess definitely needs a shakeup, but it's unclear where it can come from. Chess960 (Fischer Random) has never really taken off. Maybe what we need is to run it like duplicate bridge -- have tournaments where you face off against an opponent starting from a random position, that may be a winning or losing position, and see how you do against other players faced with the same setup.

runarberg 4y ago
This might be true for spectators and top players, but for your average player, it is fine. In fact a chess puzzle starts from a seemingly random position and your task is to find the best move. And most amateurs still play the game with such inaccuracy that there are ample opportunities for dynamic play. I do admit though that watching top level chess is often times really boring. The moves are really predictable and at the same time really hard to understand. Blitz and Bullet games are actually far more enjoyable (when replayed on slower mode), because if a player makes an inaccuracy I can understand the punishing move (or it can be explained to me rather). If you want a more dynamic board game though, I do recommend Go. I at least still enjoy watching top level go in a way that I don’t with chess.
matai_kolila 4y ago
Rapid and blitz chess online is what gives the Twitch streamers their views, is my understanding.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
bnralt 4y ago
If people wanted to see someone's skill at games like chess, it wouldn't be too difficult. There are plenty of historical pre-cursors to modern chess (like courier chess) or regional variations (Chinese chess). All of these are/were pretty well regarded. And that's not even getting into modern, intentionally created chess variants (like Chess960 that you mentioned). Picking a random version of chess would shake things up and force players to think on the fly. But people who enjoy modern Western international chess seem to want to see that one single version of the game optimized. Which is fine, I suppose. Though it would be nice if we saw more alternatives (granted, there are currently some popular alternatives like blitz chess).
bonzini 4y ago
This is how tournaments are run between engines. Computers do not play the first 10 moves or so, which instead are prepared by humans to provide imbalanced positions where both sides can win.

runarberg 4y ago

This might be true for spectators and top players, but for your average player, it is fine. In fact a chess puzzle starts from a seemingly random position and your task is to find the best move. And most amateurs still play the game with such inaccuracy that there are ample opportunities for dynamic play. I do admit though that watching top level chess is often times really boring. The moves are really predictable and at the same time really hard to understand. Blitz and Bullet games are actually far more enjoyable (when replayed on slower mode), because if a player makes an inaccuracy I can understand the punishing move (or it can be explained to me rather). If you want a more dynamic board game though, I do recommend Go. I at least still enjoy watching top level go in a way that I don’t with chess.

matai_kolila 4y ago

Rapid and blitz chess online is what gives the Twitch streamers their views, is my understanding.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

bnralt 4y ago

If people wanted to see someone's skill at games like chess, it wouldn't be too difficult. There are plenty of historical pre-cursors to modern chess (like courier chess) or regional variations (Chinese chess). All of these are/were pretty well regarded. And that's not even getting into modern, intentionally created chess variants (like Chess960 that you mentioned). Picking a random version of chess would shake things up and force players to think on the fly. But people who enjoy modern Western international chess seem to want to see that one single version of the game optimized. Which is fine, I suppose. Though it would be nice if we saw more alternatives (granted, there are currently some popular alternatives like blitz chess).

bonzini 4y ago

This is how tournaments are run between engines. Computers do not play the first 10 moves or so, which instead are prepared by humans to provide imbalanced positions where both sides can win.