Understanding Freestyle Chess
Chess is such a great game, so why do we need Freestyle Chess?
One reason is the use of engines and databases by all of the best players. At the highest level, chess has somewhat turned into a science and memory contest. Who has the best analysis, and who can remember the lines? Many games are decided at home, and it is frustrating that so many games are essentially played from home and determined without much thinking. Freestyle Chess solves this problem. With 960 possible starting positions, players can no longer rely on engines and memory – they have to actually play chess! This makes the game young and fresh. There’s no need to spend thousands of hours trying to gain a minimal advantage against the Berlin. Now, you just sit down and play chess! The same general rules apply, and the positional and tactical objectives remain the same. But…
The Downsides to Freestyle Chess
The random starting position makes the games chaotic and, to be honest, a lot less elegant! Also, when the players don’t have typical plans and strategies, the level of play falls – a lot!
Additionally, while standard chess openings can be problematic, they are also like old friends. The charm of a typical Sicilian game (or any other opening) is no longer there.
Weissenhaus
Right now, the world elite is competing in the Freestyle Grand Slam Weissenhaus. Weissenhaus is a huge spa and recreation area owned by Jan Henric Buettner, situated by the seaside in northern Germany (a nice place – I played a tournament there in October). This is the first in a series of events aimed at promoting Freestyle Chess (also known as Chess960, 9LX, or Fischer Random Chess).
Jan Henric Buettner told me about this upcoming Grand Prix cycle. He is a German entrepreneur – a friendly guy with a nice Maserati, a beautiful wife, and a big interest in chess (even though he is not a strong player).
The next events of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour are:
Paris: April 8–15
New York: July 17–24
New Delhi: September 17–24
Cape Town: December 5–12
Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen is eagerly advocating for the series and has even asked Dvorkovich to step down as FIDE president after allegedly breaking a promise to accept the Grand Slam as a world championship. Dvorkovich is probably not going anywhere. Meanwhile, Magnus is in trouble in the semifinals after losing the first game to Vincent Keymer.
