Single Comment

There are many more attempts in 'ECV', including sources, at mixing up the first and last ranks. The Mutator is repeatedly exploited over two centuries. As Mutators, a good CV should include from 2 up to 10 well-thought-out alternate arrays, hoping or expecting each of them eventually to be played repeatedly. The idea of Free or Pre- or Fischer is more one-shot and forget-about-it. CV designers put forth an alternate initial array, so that when one exhausts (as RNBQKBNR exhausted probably by year 1920), just go to another 1 or 2 carefully selected. Only a few turn out to meet all criteria of aesthetics, challenge and evenness. [Related shufflers, RANDOMIZED CHESS and REAL CHESS in 'ECV' must be deferred for brevity.] In early 1970s the same general idea re-surfaces as Screen Chess, somewhat like Pre-Chess (1978) to follow. Differently Screen Chess involves further pre-deployment of forces beyond starting rank without shared knowledge; prolific Joseph Boyer expanded some modalities for SC -- suggesting it probably goes back to 1960s. To us this generic randomizing is more about Mutator niceties, not full-fledged CVs, even if adding some castling technicalities. Yet Fischer is entitled to Chess960 by CVPage standards (loose but not strict). So would be Karpov entitled to Chess 970, if so inclined, just by thinking up 10 more adequate orders. One or another Polger can have Chess 980, Anand Chess 990, and Kramnik 1000, and so on. To each his and her own. Or exclude 100 of them for your own Chess 860, 760, 660, 560; best add some ad hoc castling rule or even promotion characteristic for personal distinguishment.