Pawn promotions before reaching the last rank can look more or less aesthetic depending on which games a person has played. I've seen comments elsewhere by chess players that they wish the board edge was 'made use of' (as though by chess 'tradition') in Grand Chess, by having promotions only there. However, anyone who's played shogi will note that in that classic game, earlier promotions than on the board edge are allowed by tradition also (the tradition evidently being that the first three ranks of an opponent are where his pieces or pawns start from in the setup, as is the case for Grand Chess).
@ David
Pawn promotions before reaching the last rank can look more or less aesthetic depending on which games a person has played. I've seen comments elsewhere by chess players that they wish the board edge was 'made use of' (as though by chess 'tradition') in Grand Chess, by having promotions only there. However, anyone who's played shogi will note that in that classic game, earlier promotions than on the board edge are allowed by tradition also (the tradition evidently being that the first three ranks of an opponent are where his pieces or pawns start from in the setup, as is the case for Grand Chess).