Well, I've been playing the current VoteChess 960 game. I signed up for it because at the time it seemed the only option, and then I took a look at the board... thought 0H-OH! However,
it's been very fun, and have learned a incredible amount in the endgame! But this game has been exceptional.
For a player like myself who is extremely amateur, Chess960 is probably not super-helpful at the beginning of the game in terms of learning how to get your feet on the ground.
I like the idea of an extra knight, be he visible or invisible.
Love.
I've only played 4 games so far but I totally love it. Never liked very much to memorize opening lines so it suits me perfectly.
chess 960 is fun!
Love 960 because all those chess books my opponent has read helps them nothing. Its like a chess sandbox.
Yes. Chess960 was supposed to be the "Solution," to revitalize chess. When I first saw it proposed, I was very excited to try it. Chess without all those centuries of opening theory? What else could be better? I never considered myself much of an Opening Wiz, anyway. ...
But now that I've tried 960 for a while, I'm not so sure. Okay, i'm shakey in the opening part, that much I expected. But I never realized how uncomfortable I would be in the middlegame as well...
Only as the endgame approaches, do things start to look familiar again.
I still intend to keep trying 960. But so far, I am disappointed.
Now... back to the Chess 960 discussion. I love Chess 960. I played a chess master (in standard chess) who was just learning to play Chess 960, and in our second game, I was competitive through most of the game, except that I made an error in judgment and allowed a passed pawn when I should have rather given up my bishop for his knight in an exchange. Then it could easily have been a draw. The lesson is: if you thoroughly follow the principles of opening play, which is the same in Chess 960 except for a few added considerations... then you as a lower rated player can indeed compete against a chess master, especialy if he is new at Chess 960. Of course, if he/she is an old pro at Chess 960, it will be harder, but strict following of opening principles should allow one to remain competitive.
...But who thoroughly follows the opening principles ...or who has mastered them? Conclusion: Mastery of opening principles = enjoyment of Chess 960. Voila!
I would think it is more likely that 960 greatly favours the stronger player.
Their much greater tactical and strategic knowledge should see them through more comfortably than in a normal game.
In a normal game, even a weaker player can hold their own in a line known to them, until later in the game where little slip ups start piling up. In 960, tactics come into play very early. A weaker player should be destroyed.
Precisely, 960 favors the stronger player because most 960 starting positions are not at all symmetric, contrary to standard chess (if you ignore king and queen). So it is much harder going.
Paradoxically, the stronger player with good practice of opening principles, strategy and tactics, even while at a lower level BUT really learning, can compete vs. a standard chess master whose knowledge of standard games will be of limited help. Anyway, I always play really strong in the 960 openings except when I am asleep and make stupid blunders...
Chess 960 in my experience (which isnt that great) often enter relatively quickly into sharp and even caotic positions. According to the "Chess for Tigers" book, this is the kind of positions in which a much lower ranking player has the greatest posibility of beating a much stronger player.
I won one game which started with the "Barbeque" (BBQ on one board edge) position in 9 moves as black, and my oponent didnt actually blunder a piece or miss a mate, just made positional errors of not seeing the very strong king attack coming. In another game in move 2 I already missed a pawn fork and lost the game quickly trying to hold on to the pawn with failed counter tactics.
In SP518 yes sometimes a weaker player can beat a stronger using a very odd and sharp opening like e4 e5 Nf3 f5, having specialised in memorizing that opening. But it has never really worked for me because as I said I dont like memorizing very much and I prefer sound openings.
As for principles it seems that they may not be totally the same in Chess960 generally as in SP518. What I have most often seen commented on from strong players is that castling often comes later or not at all in 960 and that control of the center seems to be a little bit less crucial in some 960 positions than in the 518, although still always important to some degree. Also pieces getting in the way of each other is a much more common problem in 960.
Mr. FM marljivi, what do you think of bughouse, then? Is it twice the fun when you have twice the players?
I haven't played much bughouse until now.Well,it is obviously some kind of fun-it is a team game.Obviously,in bughouse one needs a good partner if he wants to gain good result-if we take bughouse as a serious game.However,it seems to me that the question we are all asking ourselves is the following-is traditional chess,an individual game,still good enough,or does it need some improvements? I repeat-as an individual game? And in this aspect,the purpose of the invention of chess960 isn't just to have 960 times more fun,but also to have 960 times more space for creativity,for originality from move number 1-the game is also 960 times more healthy and charming.I give no credit to the victory of the game,which lasts,let's say,40 moves,and the first 20 moves had been prepared with computer,than the moves 21-30 had been a part of prepared general plan,which had probably also been merely worked out by computer,and then the last 10 moves were just convertion of the big advantage into a full point.I would really like to hear someone to explain to me the drawbacks of the chess960.Please,I am all ears.
A personal problem I have with 960 Is not being able to figure out how to open the best way and find tactics that would seem obvious to players of your caliber.
Hm,well,thank you. :-)
But actually I have precisely the same personal problem with chess960-I am not really able to figure out how to open the best way and find tactics that would seem obvious to players of,let's say,Peter Svidler's caliber.
Hahaha,yeah,I have no stats in chess960,but that is only because correspondence chess960 is the only way to play chess960 here on chess.com.Correspondence-again computer help,so I am not interested in that.However,chess960 live can be played on ICC,chess hotel,FICS,chesscube,caissa.com,chess rex,and so on.
Advertising other chess sites ?! 
Well,actually YES. :-) We can also put it the other way around-encouraging chess.com administrators to make here the option of chess960 live. ;-) Because otherwise,chess.com is really great,in my opinion.
NIce. Nothing like greasing the wheels of the Unions.