I don't think so. They were all game-pieces, but some had more maneuverability, flexibility, and obvious value than others. Players like Keiko and Wakaba are easily replaceable, but a Juri is much harder to come by.

Like, for instance, the difference between a queen, a knight, and a pawn.

ShatteredMirror wrote:

That's a good analogy... now I'm going to have to come up with which piece each duellist is.

Unfortunately, chess boards contain a king and a queen but no prince.  "Knight" is close, though, especially as the prince archetype is adapted in Utena.

It's true that many characters' issues have their roots in feelings of inferiority.  In fact, there are very few characters whose issues can't be spun that way; I nominate Miki, possibly Touga or Mikage, and... um... no one else.  Black Rose duelists are especially prone to feeling ordinary/inferior.  (Someone wrote an essay on approximately this topic for the analysis section.)  Wakaba would make a fascinating case study; of all the duelists, she is the most explicit about fighting to rise above her normalcy, yet she spends an entire episode earlier in the series persuading Utena that people ought to do what is normal for them. 

I think brian and Ivy-chan are both right about Akio's views on his puppets' disposability.  Ivy-chan is right in the concrete; Akio would rather sacrifice Wakaba than Juri to gain tactical advantage.  But brian is right in the abstract; like any good chess player, Akio doesn't care whether he sacrifices a pawn, a queen, or his entire army if it means attaining checkmate.  After all, the pieces will all be back in place at the start of the next game.