First games

A lot of early games will be won by capturing both planes or navy. Planes can be very powerful when attacking the commander. An early tactic would be to place a plane on 3,6 forking the positions 10,7 and 2,7 which check the commander. Afterwards coming down to 10,11 and 2,11. Playing with the engineers reduces this possibility.

The Artillery are the most powerful land piece with a large range, diagonal movement and the ability to shoot across the water.

Piece power

A lot of the pieces are relatively weak and do not see a lot of movements. Try to use them to sacrifice an exchange.

Territory

Unlike chess, commander chess is more territorial. Gaining territory gives you significantly more power. The main reason for this is because pieces can capture by staying still. The Artillery across water, the Plane, and the Navy gun.

So while tactics are still a central plot, the game plays more like chess with a mix of a traditional war game.