Ancient chess may be ready for new tricks
Nov. 19, 2006. 01:00 AM
Toronto Star
Board games are not, as a rule, known for historical longevity. The Irish used to be mad for a board game called “fidchell,” but that was back in the 8th century. “Senet” was a backgammon-like game adored by the ancient Egyptians, and “hnefatafl,” a 10th-century Viking concoction in which a king has to escape a series of enemies to reach safety at the edge of the board.
Chess, on the other hand, has not only survived but flourished for the past 1,500 years, its basic rules and structure essentially unchanged. The way players approach the game, however, has undergone seismic shifts. Through much of history, contestants played in the so-called Romantic style, trying to outwit opponents move-to-move, which is how novices continue to play the game. All tactics and intuition, it reigned at competitive levels until the 1880s…..
Enter Bobby Fischer, the eccentric former world champion who, since his 1972 triumph, has mostly made headlines for his reclusive nature and anti-American, anti-Semitic outbursts. Ten years ago, Fischer unveiled Fischer Random Chess, aiming to take the game back from computers and their like-thinking human competitors.
The full article can be read here.
Excellent and fair article.
[taken from a Mark Taimanov quote], on Fischers chessic knowledge, “We (The Russians) were playing chess, but Fischer was playing something else. Players at a high level know what his opponent is trying to accomplish, wether or not you can stop it is another story, but what Bobby played we didnt know what he was doing until it was too late, until we were dead!”
Fischer revolutionized chess in his playing days even according to Kasparov, “Bobby’s understanding was at least 15 years ahead of his time”. With Fischer Random, Bobby is revolutionizing chess yet again!
Personally, I completely agree that the way opening theory has evolved to this day, takes too much away from the beauty of playing chess. Of course, chess keeps its charm, but it is quite discouraging that in order to be competitive nowadays, you need to memorize a lot of opening lines and talent goes to a second stage. I hope Fischer-random chess becomes more and more a worldwide standard, at least until the game is finally solved – in that case theory will have completely lost its point.