The Origins of Chess Pieces
	Original Work by: Anonymous Club Member
	HTMLized by: The65thSquare

	The King is the most valuable piece on the board. But to be so valuable, he is inherently weak. The King figure corresponded to the Indian emperor, the "Schah-in-Schah". This "King of Kings" was a wise ruler and not a warrior. When the emperor was taken captive, the empire collapsed. That is why the King is never removed from the chessboard. The King went from Rajah to Prime Minister and then back to King, but he has always remained at the heart of the game.
	The Queen has gone through many changes through the ages. First she was a man called the Firzan - the advisor to the King who could only move one square diagonally at a time. Later, Europeans interpreted the Firzan as a Queen because of it's proximity to the King, and her power has since increased greatly.
	The Bishop was already known in Chaturanga. He was represented as an armed attendant who sat on the back of an elephant. The Arabs called this figure "al-fil", which means "elephant". The problem was that in Central Europe, elephants were not known, so they could not recognize the figure. The Bishops were interpreted differently by different nations. That is why the bishop is known as a "Läufer" (runner) in Germany, a "fou" (fool) in France, and a "alfiere" (standard-bearer)in Italy. The Bishop also profited from the development of chess in the 15th century. At first he could only jump one field diagonally. Later the jump was abolished and he could move diagonally as far as he wanted.
	The Knight has changed very little throughout history. Already in "Chaturanga" he moved with his special jump. The Indians represented him as a mounted warrior with a shield and a sword. As the Arabs took over the figure, they further simplified it by removing the rider.
	The Rook was already known in Chaturanga as a carriage and was called "rukh". The war carriages have been a part of the old Indian army until the 5th century. At the time the game arrived in Arabia, the name did not change but the portrayal was simplified. In Europe the English name "rook" reminds us of the heritage of this piece. The "rukhs"(rooks) were fortifications on the back of an elephant. The European chess players took over the description, and finally left out the elephant altogether for general applications of the game.
	The Pawn has always had the role of a soldier. But in the Middle Ages, monks tried to represent the Pawns as citizens. The first pawn (a2) was an agricultural worker, the second a furrier, the third a weaver, the fourth a businessman, the fifth a doctor, the sixth an innkeeper, the seventh a policeman and the eighth a gambler. But these characterizations never caught on. The two-square first move and the resulting "en-passant" capture was introduced in the 15th century.
Pieces have alternated between simple and ornate since the beginning. The pieces began as simple representations and gradually became more figurative, depicting animals, warriors, and noblemen. Because of the Islamic prohibition of images of living creatures, Muslim sets of the 9th-12th centuries were often non-representational and made of simple clay or carved stone . This return to simpler, symbolic pieces allowed them to be easily and cheaply obtained, thereby increasing the popularity of the game.
Stylized sets, often adorned with precious and semi-precious stones, returned to fashion as the game spread to Europe and Russia. Playing boards, which had monochromatic squares in the Muslim world, began to have alternating black and white, or red and white, squares that were often made out of fine wood or marble by AD1000. Peter I the Great of Russia had special campaign boards made of soft leather that he carried during military efforts.
The King became the largest piece and acquired a crown and sometimes also an elaborate throne and mace. The Knight's close identification with the horse dates back to Chaturanga. The Pawn, as the lowest in power and social standing, has traditionally been the smallest and least representational of the pieces. The Queen grew in size after 1475, when its powers expanded, and changed from a male Counselor to the King's female consort. The Bishop was known by different names--"fool" in French, "elephant" in Russian, for example; and was not universally recognized by a distinctive mitre until the 19th century. Depiction of the rook also varied considerably. In Russia it was usually represented as a sailing ship until the 20th century. Elsewhere, it was a warrior in a chariot or a castle turret.
The standard for modern sets was established about 1835 with a simple design by an Englishman, Nathaniel Cook. After it was patented in 1849, the design was endorsed by Howard Staunton, then the world's best player. Owing to Staunton's extensive promotion, it subsequently became widely known as the Staunton pattern. Only sets based on the Staunton design are allowed in international competition today.

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