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Chessville
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Shall We Play
© 2002
Are you tired of studying openings, memorizing the latest theoretical wrinkle fifteen moves deep in your pet line, only to have your opponent play the Grob? Long for the days when computer assisted opening research wasn't even a concept? Or do you just plain lack the time to learn detailed opening analysis to the depth necessary to reach a playable middlegame? In September 1993 Bobby Fischer formalized his rules for what some have referred to (derisively, or so it seems) as shuffle chess. The year before he had recommended shuffling the pieces on the back row randomly, but this story goes back much further. As long ago as 1792 the idea was broached by Zuylen van Nieveld. Yet it was Fischer, two hundred years later, whose name has been lent to this variant of the classical game.
The basics of Fischer Random Chess (FRC) are pretty simple:
shuffle the pieces randomly on the back rank, so long as the bishops are on
different colors, and the king stands between the two rooks. The resulting
960 positions, which ironically includes the classical chess starting position,
are meant to level the playing field by removing the advantage so often gained
by the player with the better opening preparation. In this book, the famous Yugoslavian GM Svetozar Gligoric, once the strongest non-Soviet player in the world, and long-time friend of Fischer's, presents what history there is of this game. He begins with a brief biography of Fischer and the development of his plans for FRC. A short history of the classical game culminates with the schism in the 1990's between FIDE and then World Champion Garry Kasparov, and with Gligoric lamenting that "Two intruders - money and computers - have entered into international chess life and are here to stay." Wait a minute, wasn't it Fischer who is credited with increasing the prize funds in international tournaments and especially for World Championship matches? Part Two of this book is called "Birth of a New Chess Game" and includes games of FRC played as long ago as 1842. Also covered are Karpov's victory in 1995 over the Swedish master Schwalfenberg, and the first FRC tourney in Yugoslavia in the spring of 1996, won by GM Peter Leko. Here Gligoric also provides more information about the development of ideas in FRC, including attempts to change the basic setup such as Capablanca's match with Maroczy on a board of 16x12 squares and two kings per side. He also recounts Fischer's invention of an electronic device for determining the random starting positions. Next comes the actual Fischer Random rules, as formulated by Bobby. Among the oddities contained in the rules are an attempt to dictate the use only of algebraic notation, and eighteen rules related to castling. Other material covered in this final section include a FRC contest which erred in the initial positions (the kings were not placed between the two rooks) and finally the Mainz 2001 contest between GMs Adams and Leko - including all eight annotated games. This book provides the only comprehensive look at FRC that I have seen, and it has plenty of games and interesting quotes from GMs. If you are interested in FRC, or even just in chess history - buy this book. As GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic said five years ago, "Fischer is a man ahead of his time and his ideas are road markings for the 21st century. Fischer's proposal of changing the starting positions of the pieces, making more room for creativity, is the only way that the human race can retain its vitality in the face of inevitable technological progress. Like his chess clock, which is used more and more, his idea of a chess game will be accepted - whether in twenty or fifty years is immaterial." For more online information about Fischer Random Chess, check out the Chess Variant Pages section on Fischer Random Chess, which includes a zip file for a program that generates random FR starting positions, as well as the 2nd WWW Fischer Random Progressive Chess Championship, including some annotated games, and Peter Leko - 1st ever Fischer Random Chess World Champion.
Check It Out At Amazon.com!
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