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One might add the following consistent changes to go along with it if one were to try to implement that variant of Chess on a Longer Board with a Few Pieces Added:

1. Specify that those two pawns that start on the second rank can make an initial two or three step move (with the usual e.p. rules applied to the extended initial move).

2. Switch Withdrawers with Changelings and have them start out as Halfling rooks rather than Halfling Bishops. This to prevent any piece from audaciously striking out before pawns.

[Scratch what I said here initially as it doesn't address the issue at hand which is how to construct a variant with immediate development of knights. David Howe's kind reader's original idea of allowing knights an initial camel move is quite excellent too.]

[This game is very nice btw, quite excellent.]

You can add the following unique properties for the Rook and the Bishop:
* The Rook is the only piece that has a special move with the King, and 
* The Bishop is the only colorbound piece.

'the Knights can no longer move on the first turn'

If someone insists that Knights must be able to move on the first turn, the first solutions that came to my mind are:

• * Initally place *all* the pawns on the 4th rank (on both ends), rather than the 3rd rank (this would probably speed up the game opening), or
• * Initially place the pawn at C3 (blocking the Knight) at C2 instead, eliminating the mysterious 'empty gap' in the initial position.