George Duke wrote on Fri, Jan 22, 2010 08:23 PM UTC:
http://www.chessvariants.org/index/displaycomment.php?commentid=24759
The 21 CVs ranked in 2009 from nominations in 2008 break down by size into: 64 squares for Sissa, Black Ghost, Switching, and Seirawan;
68 squares for Bifurcators and Mastodon;
72 squares for Eight-Stone and Templar in different configurations;
80 squares for Bifurcators, Great Shatranj, Mastodon, and Schoolbook;
81 squares for Modern and Melee;
96 squares for Kings Court, Courier de la Dama, and Three-Player;
100 squares for Unicorn Great, Big Board, Eurasian, Centennial, and Fantasy Grand;
110 squares for Wildebeest.
By country of origin are Sweden(Bi. and Ma.); Canada(U.G.); Germany(B.B.);
Mexico(S.); France(K.C.); Puerto Rico(Mo.) With USA as default, there may be some other Spanish- or French-named not of USA among the remaining, for which reason with caution they are now only listed by abbreviated initials, since there may be errors. Both criteria are interesting breakdowns, and no one has clamoured for additions or omissions thus far, so gradually these Next Chesses can be taken as informed, justified hierarchy to be enlarged. On the sizing subsets,
others than Bifurcators and Mastodon may embody differently than their written-up
preferred invented size; for example, conceivable and allowable would be some supposed 100-square CV above altered to 80 squares. Think of the lower half of the total ongoing number of CVs ranked each step
of the way as ultimately to drop out, as it were not making the cut. In other words, currently we are especially interested in 1-10 or -11 or -12. When the scale comes to include an eventual thirty CVs, the fifteen CVs ranked 1-15. Forty CVs will have been intended to single out approximately the twenty highest etc. Even something like last-ranked Seirawan Chess, having no chance anymore for sustained interest this 21st Century, has consolation of honoured place as at least having undergone scrutiny in being advanced from total obscurity out of the 4000 CVs within CVPage and 2000 CVs in 'ECV'. They would be the two major sources for this (or any) project relating to how approved Chesses must be played in future.