Well, if neither player can legally castle (as here) that makes a lot of difference, especially to the opening sequences that may be playable for one side or the other. Indeed, that may be one thing typical about chess variants, even those on 8x8 with standard armies - openings used in orthodox chess cannot be followed by one side or the other very deep into a typical game being played of them. [edit: in that way my own 8x8 modest variant 'Throne Chess' is different - the difference with standard chess possibly shows up only in the later stages of a game being played of it.]
Well, if neither player can legally castle (as here) that makes a lot of difference, especially to the opening sequences that may be playable for one side or the other. Indeed, that may be one thing typical about chess variants, even those on 8x8 with standard armies - openings used in orthodox chess cannot be followed by one side or the other very deep into a typical game being played of them. [edit: in that way my own 8x8 modest variant 'Throne Chess' is different - the difference with standard chess possibly shows up only in the later stages of a game being played of it.]