I think it does and it doesn't.

Chaos seems so random in terms of whether or not you'll make it to the midgame that I'm not sure it's significant. In surviving the early game, one's people skills will weigh more heavily than positioning. Sure corner powers might have a safe edge, sort of, but that should play out in poeples' tactics and who they choose to work with.

Say, you start in Ank and work with Con to take out Smy. Then you work w Bul to take out Con. Now you're pretty safe, but where do you go? Slowly across a sea or ocean? Or the dead end at Bul? Do you make peace w the player in Sev to keep the Black Sea and Armenia clear, well knowing that you are long-term enemies, and a good early stab could route out a corner power? Whereas a player starting in Central Europe could, with good negotiations, take over center after center, with folks never really thinking he's a long-term threat since he's always surrounded by so many enemies.

These are the same dynamics that exist in the regular game, that is it's easier to tolerate a large power in the center of the map than on the edges. Remember too it's always the goal of a large power to reach an edge, so this makes the edge powers natural targets, since central powers can stand back to back and create their own edges - but with more diplomatic options.