Chess960 Reveals Varied Opening Decision Complexity

Marc Barthelemy at the Institut de Physique Théorique (Université Paris-Saclay) evaluates all 960 Chess960 starting positions using Stockfish 17.1 at depth 30, introducing an information–cost metric to quantify opening decision complexity. He finds a mean White advantage of +0.297 pawns, large heterogeneity across positions, and that standard chess (#518) is typical in evaluation and moderate in complexity. The study implies Chess960 reduces preparation advantages but not White's intrinsic initiative.