Chess piece

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For other uses, see Chess piece (disambiguation).
Original Staunton chess pieces, left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, and king.
Original Staunton chess pieces, left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, and king.
Staunton chess pieces on chess board with chess clock.
Staunton chess pieces on chess board with chess clock.
Chess pieces
Image:Chess kdt45.svg King Image:Chess klt45.svg
Image:Chess qdt45.svg Queen Image:Chess qlt45.svg
Image:Chess rdt45.svg Rook Image:Chess rlt45.svg
Image:Chess bdt45.svg Bishop Image:Chess blt45.svg
Image:Chess ndt45.svg Knight Image:Chess nlt45.svg
Image:Chess pdt45.svg Pawn Image:Chess plt45.svg

Chess pieces vary in both value and abilities. A standard chess match consists of each player having the following equipment:

One side is referred to as "white" and the other as "black". To distinguish between the two, the black pieces are darker than the white pieces. Besides these standard pieces, there exists many chess variants or certain kinds of chess problems that call for non-standard, fairy pieces.

The word piece has two meanings, depending on the context. In one sense it means any of the physical pieces of the set. In another sense it means a queen, rook, bishop, or knight, or perhaps the king. It may refer to only a minor piece (a bishop or knight). The context should make the intended meaning clear (Burgess 2000:478), (Hooper & Whyld 1992).

Contents

[edit] Movement of the pieces

Lewis chessmen.
Lewis chessmen.

Each piece moves in a different pattern.

  • The rook moves any number of vacant squares along rows or columns (forward, backward, left or right). It also is involved when castling.
  • The bishop moves any number of vacant squares diagonally. Consequently a bishop stays on squares of the same color throughout a game.
  • The queen moves any number of vacant squares in any direction along a row, column, or diagonal.
  • The king moves only one vacant square in any direction. It can also castle in conjunction with a rook.
  • The knight moves to a vacant square in an "L"-shape (two spaces forward, backward, left, or right and one space perpendicular to it). The knight can jump over other pieces when moving.
  • The pawn can only move forward one space, or optionally two spaces when on its starting square, in a straight line away from the player. When there is an enemy piece one square diagonally from the pawn (either left or right), then the pawn may capture that piece. A pawn can perform a special type of capture of an enemy pawn called en passant.

Pieces capture opposing pieces by replacing them on their square, except for an en passant capture. Only one piece may occupy a given square. Except for castling and the movement of the knight, a piece may not move over another piece.

[edit] Chess sets

A St. George style set.
A St. George style set.

The variation of designs available is broad, from small cosmetic changes to highly abstract representations to themed designs such as those which emulate the drawings from the works of Lewis Carroll or modern treatments such as Star Trek or The Simpsons. Themed designs are usually intended for display rather than for actual play.

Chess pieces used for play are usually figurines that are taller than they are wide. For example, a set of pieces designed for a chessboard with 2¼ inch (57 mm) squares will typically have a king around 3¾ inches (95 mm) tall. They are available in a variety of designs, with the most well-known Staunton design which is named after Howard Staunton (a 19th century English chess player), which was designed by Nathaniel Cook. The first Staunton style sets were made in 1849 by Jaques of London (also known as John Jaques of London and Jaques and Son of London).

Wooden chess pieces are normally made of the light wood boxwood or sometimes maple. Black wooden pieces are either made of a dark wood such as rosewood, ebony, red sandalwood, or walnut; or they are made of boxwood and stained or painted black, brown, or red. Plastic white pieces are made of white or off-white plastic and black pieces are made of black or red plastic. Sometimes other materials are used, such as bone, ivory, or a composite material.

For actual play, pieces of the Staunton chess set design are the standard. The height of the king should be between 85 mm and 105 mm (3.35 to 4.13 inches). USCF rules call for a king height between 3⅜ and 4½ inches tall (86 to 114 mm). A height of approximately 95 to 102 mm (3¾ to 4 inches) is preferred by most players. The diameter of the king should be 40 to 50 percent of its height. The size of the other pieces should be in proportion to the king. The pieces should be well balanced. The size of the squares of the chessboard should be approximately 1.25–1.3 times the diameter of the base of the king, or 50 to 65 mm (2 to 2½ inches). Squares of size of approximately 57 mm (2¼ inches) normally are well-suited for pieces with the kings in the preferred size range. These criteria are from the United States Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess, which is based on the Fédération Internationale des Échecs rules.

Some small magnetic sets, designed to be compact and/or for travel, have pieces more like those used in Shogi and Xiangqi — each piece being a similar flat token, with a symbol drawn on it to show which piece it is.

On computers, chess pieces are often 2-D symbols on a 2-D board, although some programs have fancier 3-D graphics engines with more traditional designs of chess pieces.

Unicode contains symbols for chess pieces in both white and black.

Grandmaster Larry Evans offers this advice on buying a set (Evans 1974:18):

"Make sure the one you buy is easy on the eye, felt-based, and heavy (weighted). The men should be constructed so they don't come apart. ... The regulation board used by the U. S. Chess Federation is green and buff — never red and black. However there are several good inlaid [wood] boards on the market. ... Avoid cheap equipment. Chess offers a lifetime of enjoyment for just a few dollars well spent at the outset."

[edit] Relative value

Main article: Chess piece point value

The value assigned to a piece attempts to represent the strength this piece potentially has in a match. With game circumstances constantly changing, so do the values assigned to the pieces. To maximize the value of your pieces you must take advantage of their special abilities. For example, a bishop positioned to control a long, open diagonal will appear much more valuable than a knight stuck in a corner. Similar idea exist with placing rooks on open files and knights on active, central squares.

[edit] Piece names

Language King Queen Rook Bishop Knight Pawn Chess Check Checkmate
figurine ♔ ♚ ♕ ♛ ♖ ♜ ♗ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♙ ♟ ... + #
Arabic م ف ر فل حص شطرنج
Catalan R rei D dama/reina T torre A alfil C cavall (P) peó Escacs Escac/ Xec Escac i mat
Chinese K 王 Q 后 R 車 B 象 N 馬 兵 國際象棋 將軍 將死
Croatian K kralj D dama/kraljica T top/kula L lovac/laufer S skakač/konj (P) pješak Šah Šah Šah mat
Czech K král D dáma V věž S střelec J jezdec (P) pěšec Šachy Šach Mat
Danish K konge D dronning T tårn L løber S springer (B) bonde Skak Skak Skakmat
Dutch K koning D dame T toren L loper P paard (P) pion Schaken Schaak Mat
English K king Q queen R rook B bishop N/Kt knight (P) pawn Chess Check Checkmate
Esperanto R reĝo D damo T turo K kuriero Ĉ ĉevalo (P) peono Ŝako Ŝak Ŝakmato
Estonian K kuningas L lipp V vanker O oda R ratsu (E) ettur Male Tuli Matt
Finnish K kuningas D daami/ kuningatar T torni L lähetti R ratsu (S) sotilas Shakki Shakki Matti/ Shakkimatti
French R roi D dame T tour F fou C cavalier (P) pion Jeu d'échecs Échec Échec et mat
German K König D Dame T Turm L Läufer S Springer (B) Bauer Schach Schach Schachmatt
Greek Ρ βασιλιάς Β βασίλισσα Π πύργος Α αξιωματικός Ι ίππος (Σ) πιόνι Σκάκι Σαχ Mάτ
Hebrew מלך מלכה צריח רץ פרש רגלי שחמט שח מט
Hindi R raja V vajeer H hathi O oont G ghoda (P) pyada Shatranj Shah Maat
Hungarian K király V vezér B bástya F futó H huszár (P) gyalog/ paraszt Sakk Sakk Matt
Icelandic K kóngur D drottning H hrókur B biskup R riddari (P) peð Skák Skák Skák og mát
Indonesian R raja M menteri B benteng G gajah K kuda (P) pion Catur Skak Skak mati
Irish R rí B banríon C caiseal E easpag D ridire (F) fichillín/ ceithearnach Ficheall Sáinn Marbhsháinn
Italian R re D donna T torre A alfiere C cavallo (P) pedone Scacchi Scacco Scacco matto
Japanese キング クイーン ルーク ビショップ ナイト ポーン チェス 王手
Korean K 킹 Q 퀸 R 룩 B 비숍 N 나이트 (P) 폰 체스 체크 체크메이트
Latin K rex Q regina R turris B episcopus N eques (P) pedes Scacci Scaccus Mattus
Latvian K karalis D dāma T tornis L laidnis Z zirgs (B) bandinieks Šahs Šahs Šahs un mats
Lithuanian K karalius V valdovė B bokštas R rikis Ž žirgas (P) pėstininkas Šachmatai Šach Matas
Luxembourgish K kinnek D damm T tuerm L leefer P päerd (B) bauer Schach Schach Schachmatt
Norwegian K konge D dronning T tårn L løper S springer (B) bonde Sjakk Sjakk Sjakkmatt
Persian ش شاه و وزیر ق/ر قلعه/رخ ف فیل ا اسب س سرباز شطرنج کیش کیش‌مات
Polish K król H hetman W wieża G goniec S skoczek (P) pion Szachy Szach Mat
Portuguese R rei D dama/rainha T torre B bispo C cavalo (P) peão Xadrez Xeque Xeque-mate
Romanian R rege D regină T turn N nebun C cal (P) pion Şah Şah Mat
Russian Кр король Ф ферзь Л ладья С слон К конь (П) пешка Шахматы Шах Мат
Serbian К краљ Д дама Т топ Л ловац С скакач (П) пешак Шах Шах Мат
Sicilian R re D riggina T turru A alferu S scecchu (P) pidinu Scacchi
Slovakian K kráľ D dáma V veža S strelec J jazdec (P) pešiak Šach Šach
Slovene K kralj D dama T trdnjava L lovec S skakač (P) kmet Šah Šah Mat/Šahmat
Spanish R rey D dama/reina T torre A alfil C caballo (P) peón Ajedrez Jaque Jaque mate
Swedish K kung D dam T torn L löpare S springare (B) bonde Schack Schack Schack matt
Telugu రాజు మంత్రి ఏనుగు శకటు గుర్రం బంటు చదరంగం దాడి కట్టు
Turkish Ş/K şah/kral V vezir K kale F fil A at (P) asker/piyon Satranç Şah Mat
Ukrainian Kр король D королева T тура C слон K кінь (П) пішак Шахи Шах Мат
Vietnamese V Vua H Hậu X Xe T Tượng M Mã _ Tốt Cờ vua Chiếu Chiếu bí
Welsh T teyrn/brenin B brenhines C castell E esgob M marchog (G) gwerinwr Gwyddbwyll Siach Siachmat


[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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Chess pieces
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