H. G. Muller wrote on Fri, Oct 28, 2022 11:42 AM UTC:
This seems a very drawish variant.
Mainly because Pawns are almost completely useless;
they cannot attack the cental file in the General's block,
so a General can safely stay there even in an end-game against 5 Pawns.
And to make it worse, stalemate is not even a win.
So most pieces are not able to defeat a bare King.
That the Palace is 4 ranks deep also doesn't help;
it means that a piece that only can threaten one square on the central file cannot bring the General in zugzwang
to force it away from that file.
I would recommend giving the Pawns always a full Wazir move inside the General's block,
or at least for capturing. And of course score stalemate as a win.
This seems a very drawish variant. Mainly because Pawns are almost completely useless; they cannot attack the cental file in the General's block, so a General can safely stay there even in an end-game against 5 Pawns. And to make it worse, stalemate is not even a win. So most pieces are not able to defeat a bare King. That the Palace is 4 ranks deep also doesn't help; it means that a piece that only can threaten one square on the central file cannot bring the General in zugzwang to force it away from that file.
I would recommend giving the Pawns always a full Wazir move inside the General's block, or at least for capturing. And of course score stalemate as a win.