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The thing is this: We know who invented variants that didn't catch on, and when they invented them, even for some really old variants. For example: ArchChess, Carrera's Chess (which probably has more derivative variants than any other variant; none of which has had any significant success), The Duke of Rutland's Chess, Triple Chess, Vierschach, etc.

Bughouse, the only variant to achieve any significant popularity, is a more recent invention (The Wikipedia entry suggests it was invented in the early 1960s), yet we don't know who invented it.

Did any of the inventors of the other popular variants seek fame? I doubt it, because, if they did, someone would have made a note of it. They, after all, were able to note the inventor of several Chess Variants that no one plays today and that only exist in dusty old books.

The same is true of other games: We don't know who invented Texas Hold-em poker, much less Poker. We don't know who invented Bridge. Strangely enough, we think we know who invented Gin Rummy (Elwood T. Baker), although Gin Rummy is very close to an 1899 game that we don't know the origins of. We also know who invented Monopoly (Elizabeth Magie, and then modified by Charles Darrow), mainly because there were some heavy lawsuits about this game's invention.

So, yes, we know the exact history for many Chess Variants that have not caught on. We don't know the history of the ones that did catch on. The most logical reason for this is because the inventors did not care about making a name for themselves, but only about having some fun.

- Sam