Seeing Chess with Fresh Eyes

Richard Feynman, physicist and nobel laureate gave an interesting insight into the scientific method, by using chess as an analogy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1dgrvlWML4

It's fascinating to consider how we would view chess if we didn't know any of the history, or the names of the pieces. Might we not view it as some kind of inticate dance ("an almost sublime, mystical chaos of juggling until the delicate balance is achieved") rather than as a game of war?

... and for a real fresh start: close one's username, and start a new one.

Though some piece representation is a little too obscure ...

The mapping between the geometrical shapes and chess pieces is not obvious. The spiral piece does not look like a knight to me. If anything, it looks more like a bishop's crosier.