Turkish Chess Piece Names – How They Differ From English

Did you know the Turkish 🇹🇷 names of the pieces are quite different from English 🇬🇧 ?

Here’s a quick guide:

♟️ Pawn – “Piyon”
Same as in many European languages. Comes from the French pion.

🐎 Knight – “At”
Literally means “horse.” Turkish uses the physical horse rather than the title “knight.”

🐘 Bishop – “Fil”
Means “elephant,” referencing the old Indian origins of the piece.

🏰 Rook – “Kale”
Means “castle/fortress.” Fits perfectly with the piece’s shape and movement.

👸 Queen – “Vezir”
Means “vizier” (a high-ranking advisor to the king). The piece moves like the Queen in modern chess, but the traditional name remained.

🤴 King – “Şah”
Means “king.” Also used historically as a royal title in Persian.

Does your language also use different or unusual names for chess pieces?

Please share yours below in the comments!

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Hakan Yaşarcan - acroyogateacher
#hakan #yasarcan #spirituality #yoga #acroyoga #meditation #selfawareness #nature #cyprus #kıbrıs #chess