H. G. Muller wrote on Thu, May 8, 2008 04:15 PM UTC:
Well, I do not consider the stalemate rule essential to Chess, and there are many variants where stalemate = loss.
You won't get rid of many draws, though, when you abolish it. To get rid of draws entirely, you could add some kind of a tie-break to the game, like penalty shootouts in soccer: In a position where FIDE rules would declare draw (50-moves, 3-fold-rep, insuff. material) you could trigger this tie-break. From the moment on it is triggered, the opponent can do two moves in a row, then you can do three moves, then he 4, etc. This would even work for King vs King, as in the end there will be no place you can hide without his King being able to capture you.