'would perhaps come close to being almost nearly playable' Almost . . .
Well, if instead of each rank and file being different, if the board were
divided into maybe three zones in each dimension (left, center, right;
back, center, forward; etc.), then this might be actually manageable by a
normal human. And on the other topic, once youopen the door to Gilbert and
Sullivan chess, logic dictates all sorts of generalizations (Aristophanes
chess, Tolstoi chess, Rowling chess, ad...ad...I dunno) --JCL