Single Comment

I expect the Next Chess, if there ever is one, will be a static set of
rules. As I understand it, the Next Chess would be a Chess variant that
usurps the place of Chess in terms of popularity, tournament play, 
organizations of people dedicated to playing the game, and established
book knowledge. I don't see this happening unless the game has a static
set of rules. Moreover, with this kind of infrastructure in place, there
would be strong forces of uniformity in play. The organizations would
enforce strict tournament rules, the literature on the game would assume a
fixed set of rules, and fixed rules would be required to underpin a
meaningful rating system. To become as popular as Chess, most of the
people the game would have to appeal to are those who are looking for a
game that is simple to learn and difficult to master. A game with fixed
rules is easier to learn than a game with fluid rules, and it is easier to
measure mastery of a game when the rules are fixed. People who like Chess
variants are the minority, and there is no need to appeal to our interest
in variety and novelty to win over most of the people who might take to a
Chess successor. What is needed is an organization dedicated to promoting
the new game. The organizational efforts would work best if the game has
fixed rules. If the organization allowed fluidity in the rules, it would
likely splinter into factions that prefer different versions. A static set
of rules, strictly enforced, would be what the organization needs to remain
focused and unified in its strength while trying to challenge the place of
Chess.

With this said, I am not personally interested in trying to usurp the
place of Chess. I am more interested in Chess variants, in part because
they don't have the same kind of infrastructure behind them that Chess
has. Expert Chess players depend a lot on book knowledge, and there is a
whole lot of that to be had if you care to study it. I'm uninterested in
studying book knowledge and mastering Chess. My interest is in playing
games that remain games of skill, because neither player has access to any
extensive book knowledge.