Re: The "swap rule" in chess...

>Besides, there are other drawn situationds for which you'd need to come 
>up with equally preposterous and game-changing ideas (perpetual check, 
>stalemate,

Actually, I don't that that stalemate is a win instead of a draw is a bad idea;
it's certainly not preposterous.  In fact, I think it is the rule in Chinese
Chess.  And some historical forms of chess have included the "robado" or "bare
king" rule whereby the first player left with only a king loses, unless he can
immediately bare his opponent's king also.  This also reduces draws and has
historical precedent.  Also, in Go, there is a "Superko" rule that makes the
repetition of any previous board position illegal.  In chess, this would
eliminate the draw by threefold repetition, including perpetual check, and it
has precedent in one of the world's other great strategy games.  So I think the
draw problem could be greatly reduced without changing the essential character
of chess, except for some types of endgames.