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I see a lot of people arguing chess960 is just better than standard chess because "there's less theory", and that's not true. The absence of named openings doesn't mean there's less opening theory, it just means you get all the same kind of "except on Tuesdays" clauses you find in endgame theory.

Thomas Winwood

@ketsuban.github.io

Eventually someone will invent the opening-theory equivalent of the Philidor, Lucena etc. positions and you'll have to memorise things again, at which point all you've done is cut off a part of chess history that a lot of people enjoy and benefitted a few supergrandmasters for a while.

11/4/25, 11:34 pm0 reposts0 likes

Thomas Winwood

@ketsuban.github.io

11 Apr 2025

If you *enjoy* chess960, then that's fine—I'm not interested in yucking your yum. I'm just also not interested in playing a totally different game because Bishops Georg, who lives in a cave and has been playing chess since they were three months old, is bored of opening prep.