A (probably) interesting story about chess pieces
Chess is made up of pieces. Each piece has a unique way of attacking and moving. Having this in mind, a good player must coordinate the pieces to checkmate his/her opponent. Now let me ask you, have you ever wondered about the pieces? Why are there bishops in the game? Why does the knight move like the letter L? Get your popcorn, and scroll down!
Note: This is only based on my interpretation. I encourage you to study more and have your own opinion!
THE KING
The king is the most important piece in the game. If captured, it will result in a checkmate (or the end of a game). Like I said in my last blog, chess was first used to plan battles. A king in the stimulation represents the king's troops or the main brigade in a war. This leads us back to our good old story of Talhand and Gav, where Talhand passed away in battle. Their mother believed that his brother (Gav) murdered him. So, the innocent man defended himself by inventing the game to show how the battle went, Talhand taking the role of the king, of course.
In the Chinese chess variant, the general (king) must stay only in the palace; a special area in the board. You might be wondering why it is called a general, and not a king. This is my interpretation: Ancient China was based mostly on feudalism. Lots of feudal lords could be found in different areas of the country. After the collapse of the Zhou dynasty, the empire fell to pieces. Different cities and states became independent. These cities were ruled by generals, of course. It was under the leadership of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, King of Qin, who reunited China. It was around this time, that Chinese chess started to develop. To conclude, I think that this event had an impact on Chinese Chess.
THE QUEEN
This piece wasn't originally called the queen- nor was it this powerful! It was originally called an advisor, counsellor, or even prime minister. It could move only one square diagonally. During the Medieval era, the advisor became more powerful due to the ability to move (and jump) two square diagonally on the first move. The advisor was formally mentioned as the Ferz. Around this time people started to refer to this piece as a queen, but kept the same move. It turns out that the word has became grammatically feminized, with several languages calling it a spouse, a princess, or even an old lady!
The first record of the queen with the same move as nowadays was in 15th century, Spain. In my opinion, this came from powerful female monarchs, such as: Isabella I of Castile, Mary I of England, Elizabeth I of England or even the medieval queen Eleanor of Aquatine. This made the game more suitable for women, as now they could play on equal terms with men. This can be a very long topic, so I recommend you check out the work of Marilyn Yarom, an author and historian.
THE BISHOP
Why are their Christian priests in the game? The truth is: this name also wasn't original! Like I said in my last blog, The current version of Chess originated from Chaturanga, a game from ancient India. The pieces in the game are: Soldier, Chariot, Horse, Elephant, Advisor, and King. See the pattern here? The Elephant in Chaturanga is actually the Bishop in Chess!
I think that the name change occurred in Europe. The game was introduced to Europe in the Medieval Era. At the time, the Catholic church was expanding its influence, and assuring its dominance. Going off topic, I think that is how the Crusade started. Also in my previous blog, Chess used to be banned by the church due to violence after the outcome games. So, in order to spread Catholic beliefs, The piece's name changed from an elephant to a bishop. Another interesting point, Medieval Europe was full of Feudalism. Local lords, counts, dukes, or even bishops can be found ruling small cities. So, I also think that the bishop in this case, can be interpret as a nobleman.
THE KNIGHT
Black and White knights
We now move on to the horsey! The knight represent cavalry, which was one of the important part of the army. Cavalry were usually used to destroy the enemy's lines of defense before the infantry attacked. The knight moves like the letter L, mimicking the gallop of a horse. I would like to suggest that the special rule of the knight, in which allows it to jump over pieces, comes from a warfare pattern which knights positioned themselves behind the infantry. When the infantry charged or marched forward, the knights would suddenly emerge from behind, and led the troops to battle.
However, a knight doesn't necessarily mean cavalry. It can simply mean one who has a knighthood. This could also refer to any feudal lord who helped the country at war. A knight is commonly tied in with cavalry because in the old times, one who has been granted a knighthood is normally expected to fight on horseback.
THE ROOK
In Europe, however, the rook gives more of a castle or tower vibe. That's why it's shaped like a tower. There has been a suggestion that the rook actually represents a siege tower- a tower that is used to forcefully enter above a city's gate or even to destroy the gate during a siege. I think that the rook represents artillery, because, in a siege, your goal is to enter the city. The most effective way is to use heavy artillery to shoot canon balls at the city's gate. You can even put cannons on the top of a tower!
THE PAWNS
A-pawn: Postman or Gambler
B-pawn: Policeman or Guards
C-pawn: Innkeeper or Landlord
D-pawn: Doctor or Nurse
E-pawn: Banker or Merchant
F-pawn: Secretary or Clerk
G-pawn: Blacksmith or Horse-farmer
H-pawn: Farmer or Worker
I hope you learned something new today, if you have any comments, feel free to tell me.
If there were any mistakes, I sincerely apologize.
I would like to thank these articles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_chess
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawn_(chess)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rook_(chess)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_(chess)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_(chess)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_(chess)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_(chess)
*Want to learn more about where Chess originated? Click the link below!*
https://www.chess.com/blog/suenoi/a-probably-brief-history-of-chess
I'm out!
