![]() The leaping powers of the elephant might seem like a triumph. Like knights, elephants can jump over other pieces. Bishops were elephants in the ancient game of chaturanga.ĭespite sounding like a powerful piece, the chaturanga elephant can only move diagonally two squares. Instead, players had another type of piece at their disposal: the elephant. The name chaturanga means "four arms" because each of the pieces used represented a branch-or arm-of the Indian army. Indians invented the game of chaturanga more than 1,500 years ago. Other names are advisor, met, and cat sword. The minister also goes by many other names, but the most popular is inherited from shatranj-the ferz. On the bright side, blundering your minister was undoubtedly not as frustrating as hanging the queen. The minister could control only half of the squares of the board. In both of these games (as well as in other variants), they are called the guard (or the advisors). A similar piece still exists in other versions of chess, like in Xiangqi and Janggi. It could only move diagonally one square, having access to only half of the board's squares. The queen's predecessor wasn't nearly as strong as her majesty. The minister used to be the king's war companion in the game of chaturanga. In its ancient form, chaturanga, chess players could only count on their mantra-the minister in English. Try our new /variants feature with tons of new pieces and rules!Īlthough chess has always been the game of kings, it took centuries before it also became a game of queens. Here are some unorthodox (also called fairy) pieces that appear in many variants and have roots in old versions of chess. Fortunately, some of those historical pieces have survived and made their way into the armies of exciting variants. Many ancient units from long-gone armies that our ancestors commanded over the board have disappeared over the years. The standard chess army has not been the same throughout the ages. Throughout the centuries, many exotic chess pieces have battled on chessboards all over the world.įrom the common man to the powerful amazon, get ready to learn about 10 unusual chess pieces you've probably never seen before. It's hard to believe, but the age-old game of chess wasn't always like the one we know and love today. Once you let go of a piece, you can’t move it elsewhere.Not many people know this, but a few centuries ago, chess had a piece so strong that it had to be replaced by a weaker one-the queen. If you touch a piece, you have to move it. PromotionĪ pawn that reaches the end of the board can become any piece you want (just not the king or another pawn). En passantĪ pawn that moves two squares forward can be taken by an opposing pawn that’s directly next to it on the following move. The king moves two spaces from the starting position to the left or right, and the rook moves to next to it on the other side. CastlingĬastling involves the king and the rook swapping positions. CaptureĬapture refers to taking a piece from the board, so your opponent is a piece down. The player to move isn’t in check, but they can’t move any of their pieces. This is also an attack on the king, but unlike checkmate, this is one that your opponent can escape. CheckmateĬheckmate is an attack on the King that your opponent can’t escape. The pawn is the foot soldier – it can only move one space at a time (except for the beginning where it can move two spaces) and it can’t move backwards. Pawnįirst things first - this piece is pronounced P-A-W-N. ![]() Knights are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces! They move in an ‘L’ shape – two squares vertically and one horizontally, and vice versa. They move diagonally as long as there are no other pieces in the way. BishopĮach player has two bishops a bishop that only travels on white squares, and another that only travels on black squares. Rooks are powerful pieces that can sweep the board in one move, which is very useful at the end of a game. They move vertically and horizontally as long as there are no other pieces in the way. It moves vertically, horizontally, and diagonally as long as there are no other pieces in the way. The queen can move to more squares than any other piece. The Queen may not be as important as the King, but it’s the most powerful piece on the board. The king moves one square at a time in any direction. 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. Thinking of trying your hand at chess but a bit intimidated by all these strange terms you hear thrown around? This handy guide will have you talking chess like a grandmaster in no time.
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