(Chess Variant) Angel Chess.

1- The board starts off with only the first row of pawns (set up normally) and the king behind, on the square of each players choosing.

2- Pawns can move and capture the same way, forward or diagonally one square. (there are no 2 move hops).

3- Each turn, the player can either:
- Place a piece from their set (all the minor + major pieces) anywhere on the board. Whether they are allowed to check or not is player preference.
- Move a piece already on the board.

I propose that there is no castling, or stalemate rule (capture the king first wins).

All other moves + rules are the same.

-- I would love to see the potentials of this game style. Pawns would be more powerful.
There would be more strategic possibilities, such as-
- Holding pieces in hand for surprise vs. having all your forces out.
- Creating pawn deathballs.
- Dreaming up different strategies, and countering each others ideas.

Also no locked pawn formations. You could move your pawns diagonally to open up files, double and undouble, etc.

The rules are a lot simpler to teach to a newbie than normal chess. They are more logical. Pawns are like swordsmen, moving and attacking frontally. Whoevers king dies first loses. The hardest part would be teaching the knight :P

I would love for there to be an online chess board with no rules coded in, so we could play a variant like this, and others.

Good idea, would love to see development of this.

In Rule 3) does 'anywhere on the board' include squares occupied by opponent pieces?

Because then on the first move white places a piece on the square of the black king. Since capturing the king is legal white wins on the first move.

No, only vacant squares.

I like more the idea that when you place the minor and major pieces, you can only place them in their traditional starting square.

Can it be placed to deliver a check or mate?

Player preference, placing pieces that can check is too hotly debated so I'll let the players decide.

If pieces can be placed to check, can't white win with back rank mate on move one?

Interesting idea, I recall a shogi variant like this. However, the drop rule was severely restricted since you start with most pieces in hand.

There was a proposal here for a similar variant ( put down chess ) in which both sides start with legally putting their king down on their half of the board and from then on they either move one of their pieces already on the board or put down a piece from their piece set on their half of the board (on a vacant square).

Forgive me but the above variant is much more clear and is without contradictions. You can modify it by introducing a different rule for pawn movement or by originally placing pawns on the board, or by allowing the capturing of kings if this is what you want, but the excessive unpredictability and contradictory nature of your proposal is in no small content remedied in the said variant.