Comments/Ratings for a Single Item

I think such ideas fits well in the idea of a contest. A contest should
make people creative by giving a thing to start. It is hard to just create
a game from scrap, but if there is one idea given, it is much easier to be
creative.

Previous contests were almost all about a number of squares on the board.
It would be interesting to begin a contest with another given idea than
number of squares. An inventive goal would be a nice example.

How about contest to create a chess variant with incomplete information,
like 'Dark Chess' or 'Kriegspiel'?

Speaking for myself, I am primarily interested in Chess variants with a
goal of checkmate or something closely similar, and I would not be
interested in a contest for games with different objectives. As for the
incomplete information suggestion, the big problem with that is that
neither Zillions of Games nor Game Courier can handle incomplete
information games, which means games in such a contest would largely go
unplayed.

Chess variants with radically different game-ending objectives arguably do
not meet the proper, restrictive definition of 'chess variants'.

Still, a tournament which strays from the standard stuff by one or more
criteria could be interesting (albeit embarrassing to those who only play
strongly at games similar to standard FIDE chess).  Yes, shine a spotlight
into a dark, rare cubbyhole of the CV literature!  Nothing radical, mind
you.  No games allowed that are not at least supported by the Zillions
program.  [Game Courier support, optional.]

I am suggesting excluding games of the type that are usually included
within these tournaments thereby including games that are usually
excluded.

Here are several example, exclusion criteria which would instantly
eliminate the majority of well-known chess variants from illegibility.  I
am sure others can come-up with many more.

1.  No chess variants played upon a rectangular (or square) board.
2.  No chess variants using the standard white-black turn order.
3.  No chess variants with the game-ending objective (established at the
beginning of the game) of capturing a single royal piece (king, usually).
4.  No chess variants using a majority of pieces common to chess, shogi or
xiang-qi.
5.  No chess variants with asymmetrical opening setups or gameboards.
6.  No chess variants ever played in a previous tournament at the CV
Pages.

By the way, I am indifferent to speculations about my ulterior motives.

Another suggestion: contest to create a chess variant, which can be
conviniently played on usual chess board with usual chess pieces (may be
with more then one chess set, also it is allowed to use less pieces).
Piece moves should be also the same as in chess. 

Example of such variants:
* different capture rule (e.g. Crazyhouse)
* different goal (e.g. Extinction chess)
* incomplete information (e.g. Kriegspiel, can be played with 3 boards +
arbiter)
* different move order (e.g. Marsellias chess)
* different starting position (e.g. Fisher random chess or Una chess)
* random elements (e.g. Dice chess)
* multiplayer variants (e.g Bughouse)

I think this is broad enough to appeal to many people.

Andreas suggestion makes sense, it is ideal you can play the game, and it
is supposed that an 8x8 chess board and a chess set is easely available.
The problem is, perhaps, that there is not too much space to explore
looking for great impact, we (and others) have almost exhausted the best
ideas. But there is always space to go into. In every case, I think it can
be nice a new type of contest, apart from the usual: 'design a Chess
variant in N squares'.