user4399: David said in What exactly does Bobby Fischer mean by 'talent' re 'I'm better than Morphy' in 2005 (probably re chess960)?

The differences between classical chess and 960 go far beyond just opening theory. Many strategic themes and even pawn structures that appear on 960 are hardly ever found in classical chess.

Is that true? I guess that would explain what Larry Kaufman said about Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So.

Magnus doesn't generally play such great openings, he strives to get the game out of book as early as possible usually. I think the issue here is that his greatest strength is the endgame, but FRC games are much more likely to be decided in the middlegame as the players are on their own so early. That's probably why he doesn't shine as brightly in FRC as in Classical chess.

But Levy Rozman (Gothamchess) said

All the pieces move the same. There's just no openings.

Or maybe that's just heuristic on Levy's part?

user17203: I think of the converse of this explanation: Many important strategic and tactical patterns in traditional chess (a) are specific to the initial position even though (b) they are not specific an any opening line. Think:

Attacks on the short-castled king, including
“Greek gift” Bxh7+ sacrifices,
Sacrifices on f7 or f2.
h2-h4 attacks
Isolated queen pawn strategic themes
Bishop fianchettos
and more…

Thus, when switching to chess360, you (a) don’t need to remember opening lines but also (b) you can’t rely on many of the tactical and strategic themes that have become second nature in traditional chess. Whereas (a) is seen as a plus for many, (b) might be seen as a drawback.

4399: <p><a href="https://chess.stackexchange.com/users/18809/david">David</a> said in <a href="https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/41616/">What exactly does Bobby Fischer mean by &#39;talent&#39; re &#39;I&#39;m better than Morphy&#39; in 2005 (probably re chess960)?</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/41616/what-exactly-does-bobby-fischer-mean-by-talent-re-im-better-than-morphy-in#comment68192_41616">The differences between classical chess and 960 go far beyond just opening theory. Many strategic themes and even pawn structures that appear on 960 are hardly ever found in classical chess.</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Is that true? I guess that would explain what Larry Kaufman said about <a href="https://imgur.com/a/tNx0LcN" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Magnus doesn't generally play such great openings, he strives to get the game out of book as early as possible usually. I think the issue here is that his greatest strength is the endgame, but FRC games are much more likely to be decided in the middlegame as the players are on their own so early. That's probably why he doesn't shine as brightly in FRC as in Classical chess.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But Levy Rozman (Gothamchess) said</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0nyATKHLSI&amp;t=61s" rel="nofollow noreferrer">All the pieces move the same. There's just no openings.</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Or maybe that's just <a href="https://www.blackswanreport.com/blog/2015/03/heuristic-never-nitpick-a-heuristic/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">heuristic</a> on Levy's part?</p>
 17203: <p>I think of the converse of this explanation: Many important strategic and tactical patterns in traditional chess (a) are specific to the initial position even though (b) they are not specific an any opening line. Think:</p>
<ul>
<li>Attacks on the short-castled king, including</li>
<li>“Greek gift” Bxh7+ sacrifices,</li>
<li>Sacrifices on f7 or f2.</li>
<li>h2-h4 attacks</li>
<li>Isolated queen pawn strategic themes</li>
<li>Bishop fianchettos</li>
<li>and more…</li>
</ul>
<p>Thus, when switching to chess360, you (a) don’t need to remember opening lines but also (b) you can’t rely on many of the tactical and strategic themes that have become second nature in traditional chess. Whereas (a) is seen as a plus for many, (b) might be seen as a drawback.</p>
