I like the variant where an Elephant or Hawk is substituted for the Queen in the initial position.  Thus both players would begin with an Elephant on the d file, for example.  Play would proceed with only the pieces on the board with no additional drops.  In this variant, one has to earn a queen by promoting a pawn.

I arrived at the evaluation that the hawk was slightly weaker than a rook.  If someone can show me that I am wrong, I would be happy to learn.  If the hawk's power is greatest in opening and crowded mid-game positions, that would indeed be different from the rook (which of course thrives in endgames with space to roam).

Regarding the idea of using both queens, I use both queens for my westernized Chinese Chess set.  I don't like too many pieces dropped on the chess board, however.

I probably wouldn't sign up for a tournament because I play single games.

Re the tournament:

are we talking in person? or over the internet??

To RAB:     some one even argue that the Hawk = 3 + 3.5 = 6.5 points. I have on occasion traded my H for a R but only with compensation .... say an extra P or a position where control of the open files is critical.

I think 3 drops of     Q and E and H tilts the scales too far in favor of the (very) Major pieces. If I had a 3rd drop piece, I would prefer one of these

-champion

-wizard

-super knight

I could get excited about either live or a forum posts type tournament

{Btw, I am in the Central Time zone, not the Pacific}

I'd be interested in a tournament!!(Turn-based)

hmm....good question.maybe 5 days (or 7) or none at all.