Single Comment

How about Fischer Random Shatranj, and they could have skipped the whole Mad Queen phase. Or Alexandre Random Shatranj. That refers to one of the great French -- and others British -- players, Alexandre, who secretly crawled inside (fooling most but not E.A. Poe) the Turk automaton a while for Maelzel, Alexandre who started random back-ranks in 1820s. Friend of Beethoven (just remember m.m.), Maelzel had purchased the Turk through Napoleon's stepson, and Alexandre also made first Chess encyclopedia. The automaton Turk spanned 1769, invented by Wolfgang von Kempelen, to 1854, when he burned to death in the Chinese Museum at Baltimore, his last words ''Echec! Echec!,'' recorded by Poe's doctor's son standing in the burning stairwells. Over 85 years Turk played Napoleon, Ben Franklin, P.T. Barnum. Bobby Fischer had nothing new, nothing at all, all talk and no cattle, no concern for the masses of chess players wanting new challenges. Paul Morphy was more innovative for his time, connecting Europe and America. There are several random embodiments from 1820s to 1990s before Fischer's slight tweaking announced at Argentina. But nobody properly went back to Shatranj, and asked what need for so powerful Queen anyway? Otherwise, if not Random Shatranj, there are probably some good solid four to six pairs of pieces, probably Rook, Knight, Bishop, possibly Falcon, and up to two, or three, more for 13 x 8 as the next logical size. Then no stand-alone Centaur (BN), Champion (RN) or Queen-type (RB), none of them. Shatranj with occasional centred Rook randomized in starting array would be power enough; and Shatranj was good enough chess for Chaucer, who may never have formally mentioned it like Shakespeare. (When Shakespeare has Ferdinand and Miranda play Chess in 'The Tempest' in the West Indies, America, it is already Modern Chess not Shatranj, although right on the cusp.)