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Chess960
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===Fischer's influence and popularization=== Fischer's modification "imposes certain restrictions, arguably an improvement on the anarchy of the fully randomized game in which one player is almost certain to start at an advantage".<ref>Pritchard (2000), p. 18.</ref> Fischer started to develop his new version of chess after the [[Fischer–Spassky (1992 match)|1992 return match with Boris Spassky]]. The result was the formulation of the rules of Fischer Random Chess in September 1993, introduced formally to the public on June 19, 1996, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.<ref>"It was the world chess champion Robert James Fischer who, in 1996, formulated precise rules for randomized chess ... . Though still not so well-known, this invention of Bobby Fischer is already raising reasonable hopes among experts that chess will remain a mass game for the foreseeable future." {{harvcol|Gligorić|2002|p=5}}. "Despite his extremely long absence from competition, he [Fischer] won it [the 1992 return match with Spassky] with a good score of 10–5 in decisive games. It was then that Fischer began to think of reforming the game. The result of his hard work over several years is Fischerandom Chess—and plans for exhibition matches of a new kind..." {{harvcol|Gligorić|2002|p=8}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessvariants.com/diffsetup.dir/fischerh.html |title=The birth of Fischer Random Chess |author=Eric van Reem |publisher=[[The Chess Variant Pages]] |access-date=January 4, 2016}}</ref><ref>Gligorić (2002), p. 9.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tasc.nl/frandom/fischermove.html |title=Bobby Fischer makes his move in Argentina |access-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-date=January 23, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040123191115/http://www.tasc.nl/frandom/fischermove.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rules of FischerRandom Chess|url=http://home.att.ne.jp/moon/fischer/list/p_20/20_0.htm|website=www.home.att.ne.jp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021022031446/http://home.att.ne.jp/moon/fischer/list/p_20/20_0.htm |archive-date=October 22, 2002 |language=en}}</ref> Fischer's goal was to eliminate what he considered the complete dominance of openings preparation in classical chess, replacing it with creativity and talent. In a situation where the starting position was random it would be impossible to fix every move of the game. Since the "opening book" for 960 possible opening systems would be too difficult to devote to memory, the players must create every move originally. From the first move, both players must devise original strategies and cannot use well-established patterns.<ref>"In Fischerandom Chess the normal patterns that a grandmaster has been trained to recognise are missing." —Matthias Wuellenweber {{harvcol|Gligorić|2002|p=96}}; "I cannot use my vast experience to reach middlegame positions where I already know the typical plans." —{{hair space}}[[Artur Yusupov (chess player)|Artur Yusupov]] {{harvcol|Gligorić|2002|p=97}}.</ref><ref>"Preparation is practically impossible and players will give it up as a bad job. Devotees of fianchettoes will seldom obtain their favourite opening position. A competitor's preference for the king or queen's pawn opening has to be put aside and he must, like a born again chessplayer, orient himself without established opening knowledge." —{{hair space}}Gligorić {{harvcol|Gligorić|2002|p=94}}</ref> Fischer believed that eliminating memorized book moves would level the playing field. During summer 1993, Bobby Fischer visited [[László Polgár]] and his family in Hungary. All of the Polgar sisters ([[Judit Polgár]], [[Susan Polgar]], and [[Sofia Polgar]]) played many games of Fischer Random Chess with Fischer. At one point Sofia beat Fischer three games in a row. Fischer was not pleased when the father, László, showed Fischer an old chess book that described what appeared to be a forerunner of Fischer Random Chess. The book was written by [[Izidor Gross]] and published in 1910. Fischer then changed the rules of his variation in order to make it different.<ref>Brady, Frank.''Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall—from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness''. Broadway Paperbacks, 2012. pp. 260–262. {{ISBN|978-0307463913}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/12/bobby-fischer-s-pathetic-endgame/302634/ |last=Chun |first=Rene |title=Bobby Fischer's Pathetic Endgame |work=The Atlantic |date=December 12, 2002 }}</ref> There are games of shuffle chess recorded as early as 1852 but Fischer is generally credited with fixing the colors of bishops alongside king placement between the rooks and defining the castling process.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.chess.com/blog/introuble2/la-superiorite-aux-echecs-the-first-chess-book-of-endgame-theory-by-van-zuylen-van-nyevelt |title=The first chess book of endgame theory by van Zuylen van Nyevelt|website=www.chess.com|date=June 24, 2018 }}</ref> In a later radio interview, Fischer explained his reasoning for proposing a revision of shuffle chess, rather than a game with new pieces (and a larger board), as the “new chess“: {{Blockquote|text=I love chess, and I didn't invent Fischerandom chess to destroy chess. I invented Fischerandom chess to keep chess going. Because I consider the old chess is dying, it really is dead. A lot of people come up with other rules of chess-type games, [[Capablanca chess|with 10×8 boards, new pieces]], and all kinds of things. I'm really not interested in that. I want to keep the old chess flavor. I want to keep the old chess game. But just making a change so the starting positions are mixed, so it's not degenerated down to memorization and prearrangement like it is today.<ref>{{citation |title= 9LX creator Bobby Fischer says 'I want to keep the old chess flavor.'|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUsGwPv-L4U |website=[[YouTube]]| date=May 10, 2022 }}</ref>|source=Radio Interview, June 27, 1999 (see 2:18–3:03) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110606190445/http://www.geocities.jp/bobbby_b/mp3/F_08_3.MP3] (also see here 39:04–39:49) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2344&v=eMTbSfBvC7c]}}
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