Here is an interview with Magnus talking about chess 960 in the run up to the 2022 world championship:
He begins enthusiastically about 960 then becomes reserved towards the end. His initial thought is that playing symmetrically is the default way to play chess 960 in the absence of deep analysis.
From my experience the opposite is true. Playing symmetrically depends on the number of undefended pieces in the start position that will disturb piece coordination down the track if left unaddressed.
I think playing symmetrically is less beneficial in chess 960 then it is in classical chess because of the undefended pieces that occur more frequently in the start.
Yes, the rooks are undefended in the standard position, but they don't impact piece coordination in the opening phase. In chess 960, symmetrical players don't have the convenience of knowing that.
I wonder what you think?
