New Random Approach

I started this thread in 'General' and I'd be interested to know what you guys think:

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/approach-to-random

"a version where the players take turns, king through to knights, placing their pieces according to -perhaps- a unified plan or in response to their opponent's placements.

this order perhaps:  KQRRBwsqrBbsqrNN.

One could retain castling for positions where King and a rook are on correct squares [king on d1 or e1 perhaps].  You could then even play with traditional position v random if you wanted to.

I've been trying it out on some friends & my children, it's been well recieved so far!

Removes chance.  Removes theory.

Before the battle, a general would deploy his troops according to his overall plan of attack.  Why not in 'random' chess?"

A thread about a thread!  We need more of these.

It might remove existing (opening) theory, (like playing from any non-orthodox position would), but it does not remove the possibility to create opening theory. Because you start from a known position (namely with all pieces in hand). So you will simply get theory about how to best place the pieces.

Chance doesn't really preclude opening theory either, but at least it makes it more difficult.

Yes Benko's 1978 'pre-chess' is similar, but in in Benko's version you can place any piece you like first;  I think it would be better if one had to place kings first, then queen, rooks, then a bish on each colour and knights fill the last two squares.

Yes the theory would begin to build up again, but yeesh what a lot of theory it would be, covering 900+ opening positions.

That would apply when the opening positions were selected by chance (as in Chess960). But here placing the pieces already is under full control by the player, which formally makes it a move of the game. So you would get opening theory about the placement. The true opening position of the game you propose is the one where each player has 8 piece in hand. That is only a single position.

Btw, what happens if a player puts his first 4 pieces on black squares, and he gets to placing the Bishops? Stalemate? Perhaps you should let them place the Bishops first, or reverse the order.

HGMuller -  All very good points indeed, the way I've been testing it is that each player is required to think ahead regarding his bishop pair, so can't make 4 black square choices first. Perhaps forgetting this in the 'opening' is this variant's version of being scholar'd.