Comments/Ratings for a Single Item

Rich,

I think I understand what you are saying. The main issue of disagreement between us is that we have different values. I place no special value on popularizing some Chess variant. My interest is in Chess variants as a pastime and hobby, not as a competitive sport. I need nothing more than a regular stream of opponents who are interested in playing the same games as I am. I don't need throngs of people playing a variant competitively in order to enjoy it. In fact, one of the things that turns me off about the Chess world is that it is overcrowded and overly competitive.

Furthermore, I conceive of Chess as a Platonic form, not as a particular game, and my interest is in exploring that form in its myriad manifestations, not so much in mastering any particular manifestation of it. If some Chess variant did become hugely popular, I would still be more interested in Chess variants in general than I would be in any one variant. Even if it was one of my own games that became hugely popular, I would still create Chess variants, and I would still play different Chess variants. Nothing much would change for me if your goals were reached. My hope is that any promotion of individual Chess variants will help more people grasp the form behind Chess and its variants, engendering a greater interest in Chess variants in general. But any promotion of a variant is only a means to this end and not an end-in-itself. For myself, I will continue to promote Chess variants in general, not any one in particular, because it is in Chess variants in general that my interest lies, and I am not going to sell out that interest for the sake of bringing in more bodies.

Hello again Fergus.

Please understand the position I am coming from.  As much as I would like
chess variants to be light and casual things, I am involved with a
non-profit who is trying to not only represent the interest of players and
designers, but also publishers, schools, and everyone else.  The interest
is to get increased interest by the media, so that we can get more
resources so we can do more, and get more of the world to notice, and get
variants here greater attention. I do have an interest to get a magazine on
the newsstands that would promote chess variants.  Throw in also a TV show,
or cable network that has room for variants, and I believe we could be onto
something.

Anyhow, on the note for a tournament format to promote chess variants, I
will propose the following as a starting point: 
* How about having a tournament where the winner then picks what game will
be played the following year, and players compete, and the player returns
the following year to defend their title?  A proviso would be the player
can't pick one of their own designs as the game to defend their title
against.  I believe this format would touch on a lot of what was discussed
in this thread.  Of course, we should look towards refining the concept,
and take it from there.  

A variant on this last point is, rather than it be an annual tournament,
you run an ongoing series of tournaments, and keep playing the same game
until someone different wins.  They then would end up picking a different
game, and is one they didn't design.  I would recommend here that the
winner of the prior tournament doesn't have to play in the qualifier

Please let me know your thoughts on this (This goes to everyone, not just
Fergus).

Rich,

I don't know all of Fergus rules for the tournament yet, but in MY
opinion, I do not like your idea of just playing one variant, and the
champion defending the title with someone else's variant.

We all design variants because we want to play them, and we don't join
tournaments (my opinion) to just play someone else's.

I like the idea of playing a mix of variants by different designers
(including one's too) and letting the champion be the best overall player
in all the variants mix.

My 2 cents.

Jose

I have decided to drop the Next Chess tournament idea, because I think it
sends the wrong message. It sends the idea that we're trying to replace
Chess, and it encourages people like Rich Hutnik, who actually does want to
replace Chess. I do not wish to encourage the idea that Chess needs to be
replaced. I am not here to replace Chess but to build upon it. I do not
hate Chess and secretly wish for its destruction, like Iago did for
Othello. My interest in Chess variants springs from the love of Chess. But
my interest in novelty and variety leads me to create and discover other
games similar to Chess. This is a common theme for me. I love music but
don't limit myself to one kind of music. I enjoy food but don't limit
myself to one kind of food. I love Chess but don't limit myself to one
Chess variant.

I may run a different tournament, one that is more about variety than about
the potential to replace Chess. I might do another Game Courier tournament
like the ones before it, or I might try something different.

Fergus,

Run it! Call it something else if you want!

I share your same values on adding novelty and variety to Chess.

How many variants did you have so far for Next Chess?

Just 3? Lets have a firendly Trio tournament. 

3 players, 3 variants, 2 games per variant.

Don't throw away the idea and excitement away just because one person
wanted to make something different out of your tourney.

I think we can have a larger tournament than three people. A subject thread
is not the best way to generate interest in a tournament. Making a page for
it will generate more interest. I have a couple ideas for successive
tournaments. One is to reconceptualize the Next Chess idea. Let's accept
that Chess is an excellent entry level game for the world of Chess
variants, and there is no need to remove it from this status. The question
then turns to, what would be a good second game to help enlighten Chess
players that there is more to Chess than just one game? This should be
something similar enough to Chess that the learning curve is small for
someone who already knows Chess, and playing it should feel like playing
Chess, just with something new. We could have one tournament featuring such
games, which I think would be a good way to introduce people new to Chess
variants to what Chess variants have to offer. For a succeeding tournament,
we could focus on our favorite novelty Chess variants. For me, Eurasian
Chess still fits the bill for the first tournament idea, while Storm the
Ivory Tower fits the bill for the second.