I propose the theme of a draw- and tie-free chess.
If the mechanism of a game allows repetitions, one needs a rule to deal with them, and players have to keep track of the positions occuring in the game. This is not always easy. In an endgame with Queens, e.g., one might chase the opponent's King several times round the board. Then have fun remembering all the previous positions, not to overlook a repetition.
Also, if repetitions are possible, this usually means that the game can last an exponential number of moves. As an upper bound for the game length, one can count all legal positions with the given pieces on the board (with pawns remaining where they are), and the number is usually gigantic. To break such ties, the artificial and ugly 50-moves-rule (or something similar) is needed.
So I find it desirable to invent a Chess variant with a playing mechanism which can't lead to repetitions. A simple example would be that pieces can move only forward, as in the game of Breakthrough.
I propose the theme of a draw- and tie-free chess.
If the mechanism of a game allows repetitions, one needs a rule to deal with them, and players have to keep track of the positions occuring in the game. This is not always easy. In an endgame with Queens, e.g., one might chase the opponent's King several times round the board. Then have fun remembering all the previous positions, not to overlook a repetition.
Also, if repetitions are possible, this usually means that the game can last an exponential number of moves. As an upper bound for the game length, one can count all legal positions with the given pieces on the board (with pawns remaining where they are), and the number is usually gigantic. To break such ties, the artificial and ugly 50-moves-rule (or something similar) is needed.
So I find it desirable to invent a Chess variant with a playing mechanism which can't lead to repetitions. A simple example would be that pieces can move only forward, as in the game of Breakthrough.