Regarding game creation, I think I am of both schools. I tried firstly
with Bilateral Chess (obviously flawed), then with Chess on a Larger
Board with not so few pieces dropped (perhaps too unbalanced) to come
up with a satisfactory extention for Chess, but the games I am most
happy with came to my mind randomly, usually out of an external contraint
such as the number of squares (Jacks and Witches, Pocket Polypiece Chess)
or Roberto's idea of a game without capture (Bifocal Chess).
I think we should use Game Courier to revive Glenn Overby's
Invent-and-Play formula on a yearly basis, with no other time limit.
Games which are to a large extent the juxtaposition of a number of
somewhat contrived pieces, or which threaten to last for about a hundred
moves, like Achernar/Deneb, Chess on a Larger Board with not so few
pieces dropped, Optima, Heroes Hexagonal Chess or Chess with Terrain
should start there rather than on a Game Courier Tournament.
I would suggest to allow comments on a position, either from the players
or from the kibitzes, only five moves later. Otherwise it will taint the
game needlessly.
The World against Kasparov is also a nice idea, however I think we should
enrol several Kasparovs, again on a yearly basis, because the Kasparovs
may be unavailable at times. On the other hand, the World should have a
definite answer period, say three days for choosing their move by a poll,
with ties broken randomly, which means Fergus would have to implement
such a device. Maybe a higher Kasparov in the GC Tournament should not
participate against a lower Kasparov.