What chess piece was originally called the elephant?

The alfil is a very old piece, appearing in some very early chess variants

chess variants

A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways.

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Chess_variant

Chess variant - Wikipedia

, such as Tamerlane chess and shatranj

shatranj

Shatranj (Arabic: شطرنج; Persian: شترنج; from Middle Persian chatrang چترنگ) is an old form of chess, as played in the Sasanian Empire. Its origins are in the Indian game of chaturaṅga.

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Shatranj

Shatranj - Wikipedia

. It was originally called an elephant, hastīn or gāja in Sanskrit. It was probably one of the original chess pieces, appearing in chaturanga

chaturanga

The Sanskrit word chaturanga means "four-limbed" or "four arms", referring to ancient army divisions of infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry. The origin of chaturanga has been a puzzle for centuries.

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Chaturanga

Chaturanga - Wikipedia

and shatranj.

Is rook called elephant?

In modern times, it is mostly known as हाथी (elephant) to Hindi-speaking players, while East Asian chess games such as xiangqi and shogi have names also meaning chariot (車) for the same piece.

Why is the bishop called an elephant?

For example, in Russia, a bishop is actually "an elephant". This comes from the ancestor of chess, Indian chaturanga. Gaja was one of the pieces in that game and it symbolized war elephants, the mighty military units of antiquity.

Is elephant a rook or bishop?

In some Slavic languages (e.g. Czech/Slovak) the bishop is called střelec/strelec, which directly translates to English as a "shooter" meaning an archer, while in others it is still known as "elephant" (e.g. Russian slon).

What was a bishop originally called in chess?

The bishop was known by different names—“fool” in French and “elephant” in Russian, for example—and was not universally recognized by a distinctive mitre until the 19th century.

What chess piece was originally an elephant?

What are the old names of chess pieces?

Thus, the original chessmen, known as counselor, infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots, became the queen, pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively.

What animal is rook in chess?

A rook is a large black bird. Rooks are members of the crow family. In chess, a rook is one of the chess pieces which stand in the corners of the board at the beginning of a game.

When did the elephant become bishop chess?

The alfil, alpil, or elephant is a fairy chess piece that can jump two squares diagonally. It first appeared in shatranj. It is used in many historical and regional chess variants. It was used in standard chess before being replaced by the bishop in the 15th and 16th centuries.

What do we call camel in chess?

The camel or long knight is a fairy chess piece with an elongated knight move. It can jump three squares horizontally and one square vertically or three squares vertically and one square horizontally, regardless of intervening pieces.

Why is elephant in chess called rook?

Rook comes from the Persian term Rukh meaning chariot as this was the piece in predecessor games of chess in India. These Indian chariets had large walled structures on them, more like a fortification. As it spread into Europe, the Italian term rocca (meaning fortress) may have caused the shape to change.

What is the most important piece in chess?

The King is the most important piece of the game! This piece cannot be taken off the board; the aim of the game is to capture your opponent's king, whilst keeping yours safe. The king moves one square at a time in any direction.

What is the sit of the bishop called?

A cathedra is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term cathedral became synonymous with the "seat", or principal church, of a bishopric.

Why do bishops move diagonally?

Seek out open diagonals: A bishop's potential is maximized by placing it on an open, long diagonal—that is, a position in which the bishop's potential path is not obstructed by friendly pawns or an opponent's pieces.

What is the bird called rook?

Key information. Bare, greyish-white face, thinner beak and peaked head make it distinguishable from the carrion crow. Rooks are very sociable birds and you're not likely to see one on its own. They feed and roost in flocks in winter, often together with jackdaws.

Why does a rook have two names?

The rook is the last piece in the ancient game of chess whose name retains its original Persian character. The “rukh” was a chariot. When the game got to Italy in the Middle Ages, “rukh” was conflated with “rocca” which is an Italian word for tower.

What is the elephant gambit called?

The Elephant Gambit is also known as the Queen's Pawn Counter-Gambit, QP Gambit, or Englund counterattack.

What is the B word in chess?

B. The letter used to represent the bishop when recording chess moves in English.

What is a donkey in chess?

There are three unorthodox pieces in this game : * The Donkey (D): moves and captures like the standard chess Knight. However, if the Knight move was passive (not a capture,) it may, but doesn't have to, make another non-capturing step in the same direction. it's (cNmN2) in funny notation.

What did Vikings call chess?

Hnefatafl. Hnefatafl (sometimes now referred to as Viking Chess) was a popular game in medieval Scandinavia and was mentioned in several of the Norse sagas.

What is the oldest chess piece ever?

Say 'chariot' in Persian

In 2002, archaeologists in Albania found an ivory figurine with a cross at the top and dated it to the middle of the fifth century. Since it was eerily similar to the representation in modern chess of a king, they proclaimed this the earliest chess piece ever found.

What is the oldest known chess opening?

The Ponziani is one of the oldest known openings, having been first discussed in chess literature by no later than 1497. It was mentioned in both of the earliest chess treatises: the Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez con ci Iuegos de Partido by Lucena and the Göttingen manuscript.

What chess piece did the queen replace?

Beginning in the twelfth century, Queens gradually replaced the Viziers (male advisers to the king) of the Islamic and Persian chess tradition.

What is the rarest thing in chess?

Underpromoting to a bishop must be the rarest move in chess. We can easily think of some famous examples of rook promotions (such as the brilliant Saavedra study), and by comparison knight underpromotions happen every day - just think of this opening trap in the Albin Countergambit.

What is an octopus in chess?

A strongly positioned knight in enemy territory is often referred to as an octopus. When centrally placed, the knight can reach out to eight squares like an octopus with eight tentacles that can fight in as many directions.

What is a rabbit in chess?

Apparently, Rabbit is a bitboard engine and applies the dense version of rotated bitboards considering the attack redundancy of the outer squares.