Everyone should know the name of chess pieces

Many spend their free time playing chess. In this game people of all ages play with enthusiasm. If you know the rules of the game and make a certain strategy of moves, the pleasure of winning will not take long. However, for starters it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the rules, learn the name of the chess figures.

History of chess

The game of chess was invented by the Indians in the 6th century BC. E. In the deep past, chess was called in a different way. Chaturanga - this meant "Four Troops of Troops".

The game was very much like modern chess, but there were certain differences. The board on which the game itself took place also consisted of their 8x8 cells, but only their color was one. The board was divided into two colors much later, already in Europe. How many chess pieces in our time, so much was at that time.

But the main difference between the ancient chess was the number of participants in the game. Four people took part in the game at once. And each exhibited separately his "army" in a certain corner on the game board. Instead of the king was Raja, pawns were infantry, cavalry, respectively, consisted of horses, also in the army included fighting elephants and a chariot from the boat. The figures had four colors: red, yellow, green and black. Players take turns throwing a dice, which determines which figure will move. If a unit was dropped, the move was a pawn, the deuce was a horse, the number three signified the course of the rook, four - the elephant, five and six signified the course of the king. The Queen, who was also a queen, was absent in chess. The game ended when all the enemy's pieces were eliminated.

Evolution of the game

From sunny India, chess eventually began to import into other countries. So, the Chinese called chess "xiangqi", the Japanese - "shogi", the inhabitants of Thailand - "macro". Only in Persia, the current name of chess originated. The Arabs called their ruler Shah, so the chess king was called that.

Changed the rules and names, there was an evolution of chess. They abandoned the dice and the number of players decreased to two. The color of the figures has become traditionally black and white. The name of the chess pieces remained unchanged. Some of the chess pieces changed the name. So, Raja became Shah. Since there were two kings, one of them was made to weaken and make a queen. Also the Persians introduced the final outcome of the game - mat to the king. In the Persian language, the word chess means "shah died."

A long way passed the game, while I reached Russia. Chess came to us not from Europe. It is believed that the Tajiks brought chess to Russia in the 9th century BC. That's why the name of chess figures is translated literally from Arabic and Persian. And already in the XI century the rules of playing chess reached Russia.

Chess set

To play chess, you will need a chessboard that is divided into 64 squares, having two colors: black and white. Horizontal and vertical fields have their designations. Horizontally, these are figures from one to eight, and vertically the letters from A to H, so each field has coordinates. How many pieces in chess? Each player on the field must have two rooks, a pair of horses, two elephants, eight pawns, a queen and a king. In total there are 32 pieces in chess, which rivals divide in half. Next - in more detail about chess pieces.

King

In Arabic, the king sounds like "al-shah" and in translation from Persian means the king, but in other languages the meaning of the figure is the most dominant. This is a very significant and significant figure in chess. The chess king, despite its importance, can move only on one square, but in any direction. This figure is vulnerable without protecting the other pieces. Actually, the whole essence of the game is to protect the king from the direct moves of other chessmen. The threat to the undisguised king in chess is called "shah". In Russia, the figure is designated "Kr", and in the international system - "K".

The queen in chess is the second strong figure after the king

In Arabic, the word "al-firuzan" means "scientist". But there are other assumptions, among which the word means "wise man", "commander", etc. In the 15th century, the queen appeared in Europe with new possibilities, now the figure could walk a different distance across all diagonals and lines on the chessboard. Denote the queen with the letter "F". "Q" is the queen in the international system. In many countries, the queen is called the queen.

Rook and the elephant, they are the same tour and officer

The boat in the distant past performed chariot functions, it was represented in the form of harnessed horses. Called such a chariot "collapse". In Arabic, "al-roh" means "tower." Hence the appearance of the figure. Moves through the field it only horizontally or vertically, is located on the extreme margins of the chessboard . Denote this figure in Russia by the capital letter "L", and in Europe - the letter "R".

The name of the chess pieces does not always match their appearance. For example, the chess figure of an elephant used to look like a battle elephant, but over time it began to be depicted as a human being. Legend: we have this "C", abroad "B". The elephant walks only on the diagonal of its color, the player will have one elephant on the white diagonal, and the second - on the black one.

Horse in chess

This figure really looks like a horse. "Al-Faras" in Arabic is a horseman. Once this figure had a rider, but eventually it was removed. The knight can be moved only in the form of the Russian letter "G", ie, two cells directly and one to the side. They record the horse of the Russian "K" and the English "N". This is the only figure that can move not in a straight trajectory and jump through the figures, your own and your opponent.

Foot soldiers

A pawn is the only figure that is not recorded in any way and has such a large number on the playing field. "Al-Bisex" in translation from the Arabic language - infantryman. To make moves, a pawn can only advance one square.

Figures in chess, photos of which are present in this article, will help to get acquainted with the exciting chess world.