- MINISTERS is the point of intersection between Western,
Chinese and Japanese chess. It deviates least from the teachings
of Western chess, adhering to its rules except for the
establishment of symmetry, it uses an 81-squares board,
similarly to Japanese chess, and a 9x9 basis and symmetry,
similarly to Chinese chess.
- In MINISTERS, the king is guarded by two ministers,
eliminating the bishop-side weakness of the king of conventional
chess.
- In contrast to conventional chess the two bishops of each
player can now protect one another.
- Two ministers and 2 bishops can be aligned to move along a
diagonal, giving the player twice the power of one queen and one
bishop in conventional chess. Moreover, 2 ministers and 2 rooks
can be aligned to move along a rank or file, that is, one queen
more than in conventional chess.
- The additional rank separating the two players allows the
players to optimize their positions before engaging in attack,
in contrast to conventional chess where a player's pawn can be
attacked immediately following its first move.
- Two strong identical castles for the king are now available,
eliminating the weakness of the queen-side castle of
conventional chess.
- The larger board, comprising 17 squares more than that of
conventional chess, yields a more open game, where armies can
encircle one another, allowing for more elaborate manoeuvres and
more sophisticated strategies, thus attaining more closely the
true potential of chess. This contrasts with conventional chess
where it suffices to have a few pieces moved from their initial
position to cause a congestion.
- In conventional chess, due to the smaller size of the board the
player White, making the first move, has a clear advantage over
Black, as is invariably reported during international championships.
In MINISTERS™, the additional rank,
the larger size of the board, and the greater number of pieces,
render less critical who starts the game.
- MINISTERSTM has a perfect balance of powers where
each major piece placed at the centre of the board covers 8 squares
along any of its movement trajectories. This contrasts with
conventional chess where the queen, the bishop and the rook cover 7
squares while the king and the knight cover 8. Moreover, in
MINISTERS, as we have seen, 4 pieces can be aligned to move along a
diagonal, and identically, 4 pieces on a rank or file. This is in
sharp contrast with conventional chess where only 2 pieces can be
aligned to move along a diagonal, and 3 pieces on a rank or file.
- In conventional chess once a player loses a piece, even if it is
but a pawn, his fate is often sealed. In MINISTERS, the large number
of pieces and bigger board give a player a better chance of
recovery. The player may thus feel more free than in conventional
chess to devise elaborate plans where he may sacrifice pieces to
attain long term objectives.
- In MINISTERS, the range of coverage of the different pieces is
increased by the larger board. The beauty of a minister, a bishop,
or a rook, sweeping across 8 squares, or that of a knight displaying
its circular influence all over the larger battle field are but few
manifestations of the true potential of chess, now attained in
MINISTERS.
- With bishops moving on black squares a significance is finally
given to color. Black squares are attack squares. White squares are
squares of peace and refuge.
- In conventional chess the player's king is on his right or left
depending on whether he is playing White or Black. He has thus to
adjust every time he switches colour. In MINISTERS no such oddity
exists.
- The crucial first 20 moves of conventional chess have been
practically thoroughly analyzed in the theory of openings. Serious
players are obliged to memorize the moves since their adversaries do
so. The true intelligence of the players is thus not used during a
large part of the game, where they rely instead on their memory to
make their moves. In MINISTERS such a state of saturation that
blocks spontaneity does not exist. Players can rely on their
intelligence throughout the game.
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