Single Comment

Well, I prefer the painted pieces to the stained, and, while there are
certainly aesthetic and historical reasons for the monochromatic board, I
think it makes seeing the moves along the diagonal more difficult -- at
least for me.

The hia is an interesting piece: I like the move suggested by a number of
commentators here, i.e., that the hia's zone affects only opponents.  I
know the material of Mr. Kisliouk says that K+Hia is a draw against bare K
because of the Hia's inability to deliver checkmate.  I wonder if the
power is like the N in shatar, the curious ability to check but not
checkmate, or if, because completely unable to threaten the opponent's K,
the Hia has two "predators" on the board the K and N.

Since these are modern, I wonder if this game is moribund in Mongolia and
if these sets are meant only for export as curios.