The chess pieces we play have very interesting origins. Read on.
The central figure of the game is the king. It is the most important piece but it is also the weakest among them all. A common trait among Indian emperors which the old Indians infused in the game piece. Historically, Indian emperors of olden times were wise but weak because they were not warriors. A kingdom is lost to the enemy when the king is captured, which is the basic concept of the game of chess.
Did you know that the figure of the queen started off as a man? This figure was the king's adviser, a concept that goes back to the old Persians. The adviser, "Firzan", is capable of moving diagonally and served to protect the king. Europeans called the figure "Fers", deriving it from "Firzan". And because they didn't know the meaning of "Fers", they interpreted the figure as a queen since it is often found standing beside the king.
Shaped like a war carriage, the rook was called "rukh" by the old Indians; old Indian armies had war carriages in the 5th century. The spelling changed when Europeans took on the game and it became "rook". In 1527, a description of the rook was found in a published poem by Vida, a bishop of Albay. It described the rook as a buttress on an elephant's back. The Europeans left out the elephant and kept the buttress when they began carving the chess piece.
Initially, the bishop was an armed figure riding on top of an elephant. "Al-fil" or elephant was how the Arabs named the figure. But during that time, elephants were not known in Central Europe so the figure wasn't recognizable. The Europeans did away with the elephant and maintained the armed attendant to what we now all know as the figure of a bishop.
One of the chess pieces which did not change very much is the knight. His special move was already there. The figure was depicted by the Indians as a mounted fighter armed with a sword and a shield. In time, carved knights on horses came out. Now, what is left of the chess piece is the horse figure.
The pawn symbolizes the soldier. The eight pawns even had "roles" assigned by the medieval monks: a farmer, a horse groomer, a weaver, a merchant, a doctor, an innkeeper, a cop and a gambler. In time, the roles of these chess pieces were dropped from the game.
The central figure of the game is the king. It is the most important piece but it is also the weakest among them all. A common trait among Indian emperors which the old Indians infused in the game piece. Historically, Indian emperors of olden times were wise but weak because they were not warriors. A kingdom is lost to the enemy when the king is captured, which is the basic concept of the game of chess.
Did you know that the figure of the queen started off as a man? This figure was the king's adviser, a concept that goes back to the old Persians. The adviser, "Firzan", is capable of moving diagonally and served to protect the king. Europeans called the figure "Fers", deriving it from "Firzan". And because they didn't know the meaning of "Fers", they interpreted the figure as a queen since it is often found standing beside the king.
Shaped like a war carriage, the rook was called "rukh" by the old Indians; old Indian armies had war carriages in the 5th century. The spelling changed when Europeans took on the game and it became "rook". In 1527, a description of the rook was found in a published poem by Vida, a bishop of Albay. It described the rook as a buttress on an elephant's back. The Europeans left out the elephant and kept the buttress when they began carving the chess piece.
Initially, the bishop was an armed figure riding on top of an elephant. "Al-fil" or elephant was how the Arabs named the figure. But during that time, elephants were not known in Central Europe so the figure wasn't recognizable. The Europeans did away with the elephant and maintained the armed attendant to what we now all know as the figure of a bishop.
One of the chess pieces which did not change very much is the knight. His special move was already there. The figure was depicted by the Indians as a mounted fighter armed with a sword and a shield. In time, carved knights on horses came out. Now, what is left of the chess piece is the horse figure.
The pawn symbolizes the soldier. The eight pawns even had "roles" assigned by the medieval monks: a farmer, a horse groomer, a weaver, a merchant, a doctor, an innkeeper, a cop and a gambler. In time, the roles of these chess pieces were dropped from the game.
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