A board can be just a board in someone's mind, but it also can be a world in others' mind. In fact, the Chinese Chess was invented on the background of the fights between Chu and Han dynasty 2000 years ago. All the characters have the same purpose of protecting their general. The competitors whose general survivals until the end win the competition. The things which the Chinese Chess attract people most is its diversity. Different people have their own plan for every fight. You decide to have a offense and defense sometimes depends on what your rival did. It's really like a real war. Sometimes you need to be patient for a long time to catch a mistake your vival made and give them a quick attack.Sometimes you aren't supposed to ingore a soldier's power which can give you a big surprise. You can learn something from professionals to improve your skills. But I think that the events happen on the board like things happen in real world. Everything changes anytime. You need to be quiet to observe the situations carefully before making a decision.