Chess Piece Names: Where Do They Come From?

The unique characters of chess pieces are so familiar that we often don’t even question where they come from. However, every piece was once known by a different name and has had different characters spanning centuries and cultures.

In this article, we will explore the origins of our modern chess pieces. Examining how each piece acquired its familiar character reveals how far chess and its language have become integral to global history.

The Early History of Chess Pieces

Chess is a game with a 1500-year history. Remarkably, the original game was played with similar characters to the ones we use today.

Origins in India

Chess originated in India as early as the 6th century CE, then called Chaturanga. Just like today, the pieces represented figures of military and political power. As such, the piece names reflect the characters of that period.

They are:

• The Raja: Today’s King
• The Mantri (Minister): Today’s Queen, but could only move diagonally one square.
• The Ashva (Horse): Today’s Knight
• The Ratha (Chariot): Today’s Rook
• The Gajah (War Elephant): Today’s Bishop, but could only move diagonally two squares.
• The Padati (Footsoldier): Today’s pawn shares its modern moves and captures, except it cannot travel two squares on the first move.

Just like chess, Chaturanga represented a battle between two opposing militaries. It highlighted a division between the various factions within the military. Some believe it was first developed to describe the events of a battle.

While we do not know the exact rules of Chaturanga, we know the king could not be placed in check. Checkmate was considered a way to end the game. Others included capturing all of the opponent’s pieces, apart from the king, and capturing the king itself. 

While this early form of the game had its differences, it was undoubtedly similar to the one we play today. Not only that, but we see the origins of the piece names as rulers and representations of military factions.

Persian and Arabian Chess

The next step in chess's journey was to Persia, where it was called Shatranj. This is where the linguistic origins of several chess pieces and their names developed. 

• The Raja became the Shah.
• The Mantri became the Ferz, still representing a kind of counselor to the Shah.
• The Ashva became the Asb (horse) or Faras (knight).
• The Ratha became the Rukh, which is why we still refer to the castle as the Rook. It is also speculated that the heavily armoured Persian chariots were precursors to the modern design of the rook.
• The Gajah became the Pil, still representing an elephant.

Following the Arab invasion of Persia, chess spread throughout the Muslim world. The earliest existing chess sets date back to this period. Interestingly, the designs are extremely minimalistic because Islam discouraged realistic representations in art.

Through the Muslim world, chess spread to Europe via North Africa and then Spain, where it began to take on the characteristics of medieval Europe.

Related: 6 Interesting Chess Sets You Should Know About

Medieval Europe and the Origin of Modern Chess Piece Names

When chess arrived in Europe, it spread rapidly, and it was here that the chess piece names we know today originated. The changes in the game took place to reflect the hierarchies and militaries of medieval feudalism. 

Royalty

Most European countries were ruled by a monarchy; naturally, the king took the place of the shah. The translation in this case was quite direct, although different cultures referred to the character using words that translated to 'emperor' or 'prince'.

The most revolutionary change was the arrival of the queen to assume the role of visor or minister. With powerful female leaders in monarchies across Europe, this change was to be expected. Not only did the piece change its name, but it also became the most powerful piece on the board. 

The linguistic route was one that many chess pieces took: from Arabic to Latin to Old French to other European languages, including English. In the case of the queen, the Arabic wazir became the Latin farzia, which was somehow translated into the French vierge, meaning "virgin," and would eventually become the queen. 

Related: Know Your Chess Pieces’ Value to Triumph

Pawns

Pawns also took their name from “foot soldier”. From the Latin root "pedon," we have "pion" in French, which eventually became "pawn" in English. Of course, the words changed across Europe, and in some places they referred to a farmer or peasant instead of a military character. 

Pawn is one of the words from chess that has grown beyond the game. We use it, perhaps unfairly, to refer to someone who is only a minor player manipulated in the context of a larger game.

Knights

The knight or horseback rider was, of course, a major figure in medieval Europe. Perhaps thanks to the piece's ability to jump over other pieces, the knight piece maintained its identity and movement across history. In Europe, it was referred to in different languages as the word for a mounted soldier (such as "knight") or simply by the word for horse.

Castles and Chariots

How the chariot of the Rukh and the Ratha became the castle is not clear. One theory suggests it was the heavily armored Persian chariots, while another proposes that the Italian translation of Rukh was Roc, very close to Rocca, which means "castle." Whatever the case, the word "Rook" eventually evolved from "Rukh" and is still widely used, remaining the most common name for the piece today.

Bishops

The most dramatic change in character was not the visor to queen or the chariot to castle, but the elephant to bishop. This may reflect the influence of the church in medieval Europe. In any case, the limited power of the Gajah or Pil became the more far-reaching bishop, capable of controlling entire diagonals across the board.

It was also the piece with the most diverse names, known variously as the Hunter, the Runner, the Fool, and the Spear.

The Staunton Chess Set

In the 19th Century, the European names for the pieces had long been in use. As with many modern rules, such as castling, stalemates, and en passant. What hadn’t yet been established was a standard design for the pieces.

The English chess master Howard Staunton was widely regarded as the best player in the world in the mid-19th Century. He, alongside other chess players, advocated for a standard set of pieces to avoid confusion and to add legitimacy to the game. Designed by Nathaniel Cooke and endorsed by Staunton, the Staunton Chess Set would become the iconic design most familiar to us today. 

From here on out, we have our cast of players and their unique and standard appearances: welcome to modern chess. 

Conclusion

As we’ve seen, the game of chess has undergone significant evolution. Nevertheless, the journey of the chess pieces through language and history is surprisingly consistent. The L-shaped movement of the knight, for example, has been with us from the very beginning.

This is one of the amazing things about chess – a 1500-year-old game still holds fascination for millions of people and can be played at the highest competitive level. 

Today, the names of chess pieces are common knowledge, but it is good to remember how far they have traveled to reach us today.