How did rooks get their names?
Firstly, what are rooks? Well, rooks are pieces in chess who can move on the horizontal and vertical axis up to 7 squares. Each pawn represents how far this rook can go in this given situation. Unlike knights, rooks cannot jump over pieces.
Now for the history of rooks. According to source one (Listed Below,) "The rook in chess started out as a transportation piece. In the 11th century chess set from Florence, Italy (a city known for its fine art), the rook was an elephant that could crush foot solders below it and carry passengers. In the 15th century chess set from London, England, the rook became a tall tower that was part of a castle." That also explains the name of the "castle" move, which is shown below:
Now, to the main topic of the article, why were rooks given their names? According to source 2, "Castles are called “rooks” in chess because the word originates from the Persian word “rukh”. Before they looked like castles, these chess pieces actually looked like chariots and rukh is what they called them in that original language."
Source 2: chesspulse.com
