What do the chess pieces mean? Is there some sort of symbolism?
There are thirty-two pieces in a chess set; eight pawns, two castles or “rooks,” two knights, two bishops, one queen and one king of each color. Their meanings refer back to the Middle Ages when the game was brought into Europe by the Muslim Moors.
The king and queen are the monarchy, exactly as they appear. The bishops were the representatives of the Church, very much a part of everyone’s life in the Middle Ages. The knights were mounted warriors, thus the use of the horse’s head to represent this piece. These are the only professional soldiers in the game. The castles refer to the king’s home. The pawns are the peasants, the foot soldiers, and like every society there are more of them than any of the other pieces.
Interestingly, the term “freelance” comes from this same period. Originally, the term referred to any knight who was not sworn to any army, but was “free” to carry his own “lance” (weapon) for anyone who would pay him.
If the chess pieces came from the Moors, why is there a cross on top of the king? And why would the queen be so powerful in a Muslim game?
The Europeans put the cross on the king’s head as something of a modification in defiance of their Moorish neighbors. It was their way of taking this game and making it their own. But relations between Christians and Muslims in the Moorish occupation of Spain were not as hostile as this may sound. See our new poster on our website for an historic chess game in the Spanish court. (www.ChessRight.com Books, etc. POSTER: King Alfonse X)
As for the queen, when the game first came into Spain, that piece was originally the king’s vizier, his most trusted counselor. Many scholars believe that the powerful queen that served as the inspiration for the modern chess piece was Queen Isabella of Spain, although in those days the piece did not move quite like the modern game piece.
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More about Chess and Kids
This article suggests that kindergarten is not too soon to begin reaping the benefits of learning to play chess:
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