Really Bad Chess is actually good

If you haven't heard yet, there is this new chess app called "Really Bad Chess". Except, it isn't really a chess app. The twist is that the pieces are all not only randomly arranged, but also randomly chosen. For example, as shown above, you could have ten knights and four queens, while the opponent has only three knights and one queen.

The app is helpful for logical analysis, but a deeper delve into the games shows a major factor of chess that is eminent - advantages. In the game above, white has the advantage of three extra queens. If you're playing black, you would strive to play cautiously and defensively, rejecting any exchanges that white presents. This is to ensure that you don't lose any more points than you already have, and you are on the lookout for any blunders that your opponent makes.

On the other hand, if you are playing as white, you would aim to attack and offer exchanges, all while protecting your valuable pieces - that is, your queens. Doing so, you aim to simplify the board into an endgame, where checkmates would be easier.

I feel that the game is vaguely representative of a common middle game in chess. Both sides are using their respective strategies that are common to a regular advantage in a chess game, and both sides strive to reach a certain endgame. In a typical advantage situation, a loss of that advantage could be credited to the opponent's tactical prowess and precognition. However, in this game, the arrangement is wholly new to both players. They are both, from a mere precognitive tactical standpoint, in common ground. Hence, the loss of the advantage can only be blamed on the oneself's mistakes.

I feel that it is necessitated by me to state that this is in no way a promotional campaign for the application. The app both fascinated and assisted me greatly, and I felt its importance needed to be shared.

Cheers!

Hades