Body: <p>From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer_random_chess#FIDE_World_Championship" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia</a>:</p>
  <p>Hikaru in 2014 on chess960: (emphasis added)</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>I think chess960 is great as it is simply pure intuition and understanding without theory or computers. In my opinion, a lot depends on the trends. For example, at the moment everyone is playing the Berlin Defense which has severely reduced the number of games with 1.e4. If this trend of attempting to &quot;kill&quot; the excitement continues, it is hard to believe 960 won't take over at some point. <strong>However, if we start seeing a lot of deep preparation and exciting games in the Najdorf or Dragon, then I think the scope of normal chess will continue for a very long time.</strong></p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>Hikaru in 2022 on chess960:</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>The opening decides everything. If you get a good position, it's very easy to play I mean: It's a lot of fun. You're just enjoying it. (...) But if you get a bad position right away it's very -- I mean, you're just like ‘Why am I playing 960 instead of playing normal chess? I'd much rather just blitz out 20 moves of theory’.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <hr />
  <p><strong>Question</strong>: So what was the trend in the past 8-10 years? Were there more Sicilian Najdorf or Dragon games? Or still Berlin and stuff as back in 2014?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-01-27T17:10:09.613Z
Comments.Text: The question is flawed. You're asking: "Have there been more Dragon or Najdorf games in the past decade?" but you're really asking "Is the trend in openings to kill the excitement as high as it was in 2014?"
Comments.UserDisplayName: NoseKnowsAll
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-01-27T17:52:40.963Z
Comments.Text: I (and probably most amateur players) would disagree with Nakamura's premise. If anything deep preparations in lines like the Dragon would be what attract players to chess960.
Comments.UserDisplayName: David
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-01-27T19:33:11.927Z
Comments.Text: @NoseKnowsAll Thanks. Seems like 1 of those will lead to opinion-based close votes. I just wanna know what's been going on since 2014. What's your suggestion please?
Comments.UserDisplayName: BCLC
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-01-27T19:34:44.480Z
Comments.Text: @David [Why](https://imgur.com/a/ESCaF8V)? I thought more berlin => chess is boring => go to chess960 and then more sicilian => less berlin => chess is not boring => no need chess960 ?
Comments.UserDisplayName: BCLC
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-01-28T08:28:53.903Z
Comments.Text: @BCLC The Berlin is boring for the spectators when it's a game between two Grandmasters. But as a player I'd rather play one of those lines than losing on move 15 because my opponent played a line in the Dragon that I hadn't studied before
Comments.UserDisplayName: David
Tags: <history><statistics><sicilian-defense><chess960><nakamura>
Title: Hikaru on chess960: Have there been more Najdorf or Dragon games in the past decade?
ThreadText: # Hikaru on chess960: Have there been more Najdorf or Dragon games in the past decade?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2023-01-27)
  
  From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer_random_chess#FIDE_World_Championship):
  
  Hikaru in 2014 on chess960: (emphasis added)
  
  > I think chess960 is great as it is simply pure intuition and understanding without theory or computers. In my opinion, a lot depends on the trends. For example, at the moment everyone is playing the Berlin Defense which has severely reduced the number of games with 1.e4. If this trend of attempting to "kill" the excitement continues, it is hard to believe 960 won't take over at some point. **However, if we start seeing a lot of deep preparation and exciting games in the Najdorf or Dragon, then I think the scope of normal chess will continue for a very long time.**
  
  Hikaru in 2022 on chess960:
  
  > The opening decides everything. If you get a good position, it's very easy to play I mean: It's a lot of fun. You're just enjoying it. (...) But if you get a bad position right away it's very -- I mean, you're just like ‘Why am I playing 960 instead of playing normal chess? I'd much rather just blitz out 20 moves of theory’.
  
  ---
  
  **Question**: So what was the trend in the past 8-10 years? Were there more Sicilian Najdorf or Dragon games? Or still Berlin and stuff as back in 2014?
  
  **Tags:** history, statistics, sicilian-defense, chess960, nakamura
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: The question is flawed. You're asking: "Have there been more Dragon or Najdorf games in the past decade?" but you're really asking "Is the trend in openings to kill the excitement as high as it was in 2014?"  
  > **username_2**: I (and probably most amateur players) would disagree with Nakamura's premise. If anything deep preparations in lines like the Dragon would be what attract players to chess960.  
  > **username_0**: @username_1 Thanks. Seems like 1 of those will lead to opinion-based close votes. I just wanna know what's been going on since 2014. What's your suggestion please?  
  > **username_0**: @username_2 [Why](https://imgur.com/a/ESCaF8V)? I thought more berlin => chess is boring => go to chess960 and then more sicilian => less berlin => chess is not boring => no need chess960 ?  
  > **username_2**: @username_0 The Berlin is boring for the spectators when it's a game between two Grandmasters. But as a player I'd rather play one of those lines than losing on move 15 because my opponent played a line in the Dragon that I hadn't studied before  
  
  ---
  
  ## 0 answers
  
  