Published 8/28/24
Something that is debated a lot is what the future holds for the game of chess. I strongly believe that fast time controls and Fischer Random Chess will overtake classical chess and here’s why:
1. Too many quick draws are being made in Classical Chess
Lately, more and more games in top level events are ending in draws that are made in less than 15 moves. While making these draws might be beneficial to the Grandmasters for reasons such as saving energy, the events become unwatchable for the audience. Some tournaments organizers are attempting to resolve this issue by banning draws under a certain amount of moves (usually anywhere from 20-40 depending on the event), but most times if the players are set on making a draw, they will find some dull line and trade a bunch of pieces and then simply move back and forth until they reach the required move limit.
2. Theory/Opening Preparation
The development of computers and other resources have greatly impacted the opening stage of chess. It’s becoming more and more common for players to play the same openings religiously which allows for them to know 20+ moves in every variation. From personal experience, I can attest to the fact that it is difficult to get these players out of theory without playing some dubious line. Additionally, many closed events publish pairings weeks before the actual event starts which allows for participants to spend weeks preparing against their opponents. It is no longer a surprise to witness 25+ move prepared lines in these closed events. As a result, many players believe that Fischer Random Chess, better known as Chess960, will substitute classical chess. Fischer Random Chess has close to 1000 starting positions, making it close to impossible to prepare against your opponents. Players are assigned a random position out of the 960 possible choices right before the round begins.
Here are a couple of examples of deep preparation in classical games:
In the above game, my opponent had prepared some crazy line and only started thinking after move 21 while I was already down to less than 30 minutes on the clock. After the game finished, I checked the line and there were no games played in this variation prior to our game.
Max Warmerdam, with the black pieces, had prepared up to move 32 against Gukesh in the game shown above. Another example of insane preparation.
3. Sponsors/Viewership for the Game
I believe that this is the main reason that fast time controls will overtake classical chess. Rapid and blitz are simply more watchable time controls for the audience. Nobody wants to sit in front of their TV and watch a classical game where both players start with 2 hours on the clock and think for 20-30 min per move in the middlegame. The game of chess is simply much more marketable if viewers are watching the top players playing against each other in time controls such as 15+10, or even 3+2. It is no surprise that events such as Superbet Blitz and Rapid are gaining rapid popularity among viewers.
Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments if you think that fast time are the future of chess or not, and as always if you have any suggestions for future blog posts, send me a message!
Have a great rest of your day 🙂
I am not so sure, Dimi. I think there is a big divide between masters and club players on this issue. None of my games are quick draws. Even if I were lucky enough to get insane prep on the board like Yoo did against you, all three results are possible after move 21 if I have the white pieces. The vast majority of chess players are not in desperate need of 960 because we haven’t mastered the “base game.” We’re not quite bored with chess yet.
Most of the rated tournaments club players can play in are classical, not blitz or 960.
Those who watch chess probably want to watch the kind of chess they play. If I’m following a tournament and a few games are boring draws, I’ll just watch the exciting ones. Even with the rise in popularity of faster time controls, still no event attracts more viewers than the classical world championship, even when Magnus doesn’t play.
I’ll buy into this idea if the world rapid and blitz garner more viewers this December than the world championship in November. Otherwise, I’m pretty confident classical chess is here to stay. I still enjoyed reading the blog, though.