user7657: Considering the great depth to which most opening lines have been analyzed by computers now, requiring a voluminous memory to compete successfully at the highest levels, is substituting the variant Chess 960(Fischerandom) for classical chess a desirable option to revitalize the game and restore the creativity that was once its hallmark?

user4362: I want to put forth a few arguments, why I don't consider it desirable to substitute classical chess with Chess960:

The rumours of a draw death of chess have been greatly exaggerated. The idea that chess will one day be played out, is more than a hundred years old, but the draw rate in top level chess is actually growing very slowly. And the rate of short draws has decreased a lot in the last decade because of Sofia rules and similar measures. 
The idea of the draw death and of Chess960 is that opening theory will become the dominating factor in top level games, but in recent years it has been pretty obvious that the opposite is actually happening. Nowadays you cannot really regularly outprepare your opponents anymore. Players like Carlsen don't even try to get opening advantages, they just go for an unknown position and play chess. In the end, when everything is known about openings, preparation will probably play less of a role, not more! 
Openings are an integral part of how chess is played. Openings are rather like genres in literature, they have their own character and this adds depth to the games. Many players like "their" openings. I wouldn't be any happier about never playing or replaying a king's gambit game anymore than I would be about never reading an epic fantasy novel again. If you throw opening theory out of the window, you also get rid of a lot of knowledge and history. In the end you have games that are played on a lower level and aren't part of an intricate and well understood history of games in a particular variation.

Conclusion: Chess960 is a fun alternative, but substituting classical chess with Chess960 would probably be more of a loss than a gain. 

7657: <p>Considering the great depth to which most opening lines have been analyzed by computers now, requiring a voluminous memory to compete successfully at the highest levels, is substituting the variant Chess 960(Fischerandom) for classical chess a desirable option to revitalize the game and restore the creativity that was once its hallmark?</p>
 4362: <p>I want to put forth a few arguments, why I don't consider it desirable to substitute classical chess with Chess960:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>The rumours of a draw death of chess have been greatly exaggerated. The idea that chess will one day be played out, is more than a hundred years old, but the <a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/sonas-what-exactly-is-the-problem-">draw rate in top level chess</a> is actually growing very slowly. And the rate of short draws has decreased a lot in the last decade because of <a href="http://rules.chessdom.com/sofia-rule">Sofia rules</a> and similar measures. </p></li>
<li><p>The idea of the draw death and of Chess960 is that opening theory will become the dominating factor in top level games, but in recent years it has been pretty obvious that the opposite is actually happening. Nowadays you cannot really regularly outprepare your opponents anymore. Players like Carlsen don't even try to get opening advantages, they just go for an unknown position and play chess. In the end, when everything is known about openings, preparation will probably play less of a role, not more! </p></li>
<li><p>Openings are an integral part of how chess is played. Openings are rather like genres in literature, they have their own character and this adds depth to the games. Many players like "their" openings. I wouldn't be any happier about never playing or replaying a king's gambit game anymore than I would be about never reading an epic fantasy novel again. If you throw opening theory out of the window, you also get rid of a lot of knowledge and history. In the end you have games that are played on a lower level and aren't part of an intricate and well understood history of games in a particular variation.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Conclusion: Chess960 is a fun alternative, but substituting classical chess with Chess960 would probably be more of a loss than a gain. </p>
