Chess black and white Russian names of pieces. Chessmen. Rules for movement of elephants

To understand what the word means chess , let's look at the name of another game played on the same field - checkers .

In both cases we see the same root Shah- /shash- . And the word checkers does not have an intelligible etymology, the maximum that linguists could “give birth” in this case was to produce checkers from chess . Well, at least now there is no longer any need to prove the relationship between these two words. And thanks for that.

checkers - This baby steps (from step ), formed identically to the name of the game burners (from burn ). This is exactly what the figures do in checkers and in chess - They walking !

Shah- V chess - This step.

Skt. bhaggii "step, path, journey" (cf. Steps and the meaning of *vyat., *kamch. chess "trace, rut, roll").

The root of the second part of the word chess (mat- ) has been discussed in detail . It has many meanings in different languages, such as "border, boundary, mediator, thought", but is generalized as "to connect". notice, that thought cover, generalize, logically connect.

Skt. maati "to think" (cf. wisdom ), mata "thoughts", unmaatha "trap" (cf. catch , fuck , have )

wisely , clever = cunning (cf. meaning of words want , grab , hunt , be cunning , cunning And catch , have , split hairs , wisdom )

Thus, chess , given their "Indian origins" - this bhaggii- maati "thoughtful steps", or, which is the same in Russian steps-wise , which is the same as “strategy”.

queen

Initially, chess had only four pawns and four pieces (four ranks), i.e. exactly half of all figures in the modern version of the game. From here it is quite obvious that the main figure was one or more king or queen.

Compare queen and blr. firsts "first" (which is equivalent to "leader"), Skt. Purusha "first man" purastaat "first", puurva "first", pers. ferz "commander", English. first "first", Russian finger ("one like a finger")

queen = feather = finger = first - "first, main"

The queen is the most mobile figure, which is what he deserves as a commander.

German turm "tower; rook chess.", Spanish, It. torre "tower; rook", French, Breton. tour "tower; rook", lt. tornis "tower, rook", Danish. tårn "tower", Croatian tvrđava "fortress", Russian tower , jail , stronghold , tour .

It goes well with the fact that the root okay- , associated with words get along "to do, to build" palm . That. rook - this is first of all, not specific boat , but the fact that worked it out "did", i.e. like tour - "building".

The rook moves only in a straight line across the entire board and in all directions - like the defenders of a fortress along its perimeter.

Castling - “a simultaneous move with the king and the rook, in which the rook is moved towards the king and placed on the square adjacent to it, and the king is transferred over the rook and placed next to it, on its other side”- This is an image of the king fleeing behind the fortress wall.

horse

Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian horse , Bulgarian con , English knight "chess horse.", Spanish. caballo "knight checks.", etc. cavallo "chess horse.", fr. cavalier "chess horse." - all words are somehow connected with horse , or rather with horseman - a rider. Apparently, the meaning of this figure is still understood in its original meaning.

Word horse , one way or another connected with words drive , catching up , chase , rut , i.e. horse - This drive - what you can use drive .

Hence, the jumps in chess are completely natural. horse (cf. horse), and the fact that he walks in the letter “G” ( horse-race ).

elephant

Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian elephant , German Laufer "runner, elephant checkerboard.", English. bishop "bishop, elephant chess.", Spanish. alfil "bishop, elephant chess.", it. alfiere "standard bearer, elephant checker."

Pay attention to the second meanings of the words, and to the fact that nowhere, except for the Russian language, is there even a hint of a living elephant . Then what does the name mean? elephant ?

Compare:

Nem Laufen "walk, pass" Lauf "running" and Laufer chess. "elephant";
Spanish alfil "omen", etc. alfiere "standard bearer", Basque alter "lazy" and Spanish alfil "elephant checkerboard.", etc. alfiere "elephant checkerboard.";
tour. väzīr "vizier", German. Visier "sight, sight", Russian. I see and English bishop "bishop", which is believed to be derived from Lat. episcopus "observer";

Kolobrodit , wander around, walk around and around; hang around, loiter, wander around idle; wander restlessly from corner to corner, to the detriment of others...

Russian, blr. pawn , Ukrainian pishak , Croatian pješak

pawn same as chip , same as checker - on foot, infantry

Name of the figure in other languages:

German Bauer , Swedish bond , English pawn , Spanish peon , French, Polish, Hungarian pion , Greek πιόνι , tour piyon , it. pedone , Taj. fuck

Compare with Russian. heel , heel , sole , bots , ltsh. pēda "foot", English foot "foot", iron. fad "foot", Swedish fot "foot", fr. pied "foot", it. piede "sole".

It. pedone not only a "pawn", but also a "pedestrian"

The pawn moves only forward, and only one square (except for the first attack), because this is infantry.

stalemate, checkmate

stalemate "a hopeless situation" (cf. the semantics of the number five )

Shah "attack on the king" (cf. English) shake "shock. shock, fear" shock "blow, push", Russian. zzhah! ,gasp , shove )

mat "in chess, a situation when the king is in check, and the player cannot make a single move to avoid it. Means the loss of the side in such a situation".

Word " mat " comes from the Persian phrase "checkmate", meaning that the king (checkmate) is helpless, paralyzed, blocked, defeated (these are the meanings of the Persian word "checkmate"). The translation of the phrase “checkmate” is also known as “checkmate is dead” (from the Arabic “checkmate” - dead), but the Persians began to use this term in the game earlier than the Arabs.

Chess is one of the oldest and most popular intellectual game in the world. They are played both individually and in teams; make up chess compositions and problems. In the chess world, new types of games are constantly emerging with their own rules, goals and ways to achieve them.

The name of the game itself comes from the Persian words "shah" and "checkmate", which literally means "the king (or shah) has died." The names of the figures changed over time in different regions of the planet. At the moment, there are their official names, associated, naturally, with historical names, and accepted for use during international competitions. Depending on the etymology of the designations of chess units, some of them have a corresponding appearance.

Number of pieces in the game

In a classic chess game on the board 32 figures present, 16 for each player. These include:

• king;
• queen;
• two rooks;
• two elephants;
• two horses;
• eight pawns.

At the end of the game (endgame), the number of queens, bishops, and rooks can increase due to the rule of promoting pawns. So, if the latter reached the most far line board relative to its initial position, according to the rules of the game, it can be replaced by any other piece (except the king) . Most often, pawns are replaced by queens, but sometimes the positions of the opponents dictate the need to replace with a weaker piece. Moreover, the number of newly appeared queens, knights, bishops or rooks does not depend on how many of the same chess units remain on the board.

Names of chess pieces

Most of the names of chess pieces are tracing papers or translations of Persian notations adopted in ancient times. Some units of the game are called according to the designations adopted in European countries.

King and queen

King - main character game that everyone else must defend. The name of the chess unit is a translation from the Persian name “al-shah” - king.

The queen is the most powerful unit on the board because it can move any number of squares vertically, horizontally or diagonally. According to historical data, initially the queen was a weak piece and could only move one square. Since the 15th century, in European chess thought, today's possibilities in the game have been assigned to it. It is believed that the name comes from the Persian “al-firzan”, translated - scientist, sage or commander. In some countries, the queen is often called the queen.

Other figures

Notation when recording

The names of chess units also affect the records of games, compositions or problems. Typically, two recording options are used - abbreviations in the native language (in amateur competitions) and according to international designations. The only piece that does not have its own designation when recording is the pawn - in its case, only the direction of the move is written down (for example, e2-e4, where the ranks are denoted by Latin letters playing field, and numbers are horizontal). Others present on the board have the following abbreviations when writing:

• King: in Russian it is shortened to “Kr”, in English - to K (king).
• Queen: “F” is a Russian abbreviation, and Q (queen) is an English abbreviation.
• Rook: “L” and R (rook).
• Horse: “K” and N (kNight).
• Elephant: "C" and B (bishop).

Sometimes a pawn can be designated in Russian abbreviation by the symbol “p”, in English - p (pawn).

Chessmen, their names and behavior on the board have changed over the centuries. Understanding the etymology of names and names of game units in foreign languages ​​directly helps with reading chess notation and parties, problems and compositions.

These pieces fit on this classic chessboard.

There are six different pieces in chess - king, queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn. There are two sets of pieces in chess that differ in color: black and white. Each set contains 16 pieces - one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. Each of these pieces moves on the chessboard in its own way.

Figures are divided into heavy and light. The light ones include the knight and the bishop, the heavy ones include the rook and the queen, pawns are not usually called pieces, and the king, due to its special role in the game, is neither heavy nor light.

To print the picture, click to enlarge. (Opens in a new window)

Arrangement of chess pieces

First horizontal row pieces are occupied, the second one is occupied by pawns.
Starting from the leftmost cell, the figures are arranged as follows:
White pieces - Rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook.
Black pieces - Rook, knight, bishop, king, queen, bishop, knight, rook.
The difference is the location of the king and queen. To remember the arrangement, they usually say that the Queen loves her color, that is, the white queen stands on a white square, the black queen on a black square.

Comments: 12

1. Andrey writes:

   Can I use the image data to create chess game for your website?

2. admin writes:

   Andrey, use it. If possible, please provide a link.

3. Player writes:

   The king does not have the right to castling if he or the rook with which castling is being made has already made a move. You also cannot castling if the square through which the king jumps is located on the battlefield of an opponent’s piece.

4. Vadim writes:

   (admin) Please tell me, dear site administrator, if I want to take a picture from the site and insert it in the place I need, is it necessary to indicate your site below?

5. Elena writes:

   Can I use images of some chess pieces in my book?))

6. AndryU writes:

   Great figures. Can I use them on my website?

7. admin writes:

   I do not check who and where on the Internet uses my drawings of chess pieces. If you need them, use them for your health.
   .

   Vadim, if you use a picture from the site directly, as you described, then it is not necessary to provide an additional link.

8. Nikolay writes:

   Good afternoon, do you have any pictures of chess pieces in vector format?
   If possible, please send them to me by email.
   Thank you

9. Irene writes:

   And I will use your information to create a note for my 6-year-old son :)) Thank you for the concise and important explanations!

10. Roma writes:

    Wonderful figures, wow.

11. I'm a god you're a sucker writes:

    cool figures

12. Tatiana writes:

    My four-year-old grandson decided to play chess. And the last time I played was 40 years ago. I really, really forgot. I had to get out. I put the game aside for a while and, thanks to you, I recalled the main points in my memory. The game didn’t last long, but apparently I’ll have to stop by to see you more than once. We will learn to play at the same time.

Many people spend their free time playing chess. People of all ages play this game enthusiastically. If you know the rules of the game and draw up a certain strategy of moves, the pleasure of winning will not take long to arrive. However, first you need to familiarize yourself with the rules and find out the names of the pieces in chess.

History of chess

The game of chess was invented by the Indians in the 6th century BC. e. In the distant past, chess was called differently. Chaturanga - this meant “Four detachments of troops”.

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

But the main difference between ancient chess was the number of participants in the game. Four people took part in the game at once. Moreover, each individual displayed his “army” separately in a certain corner on the game board. Instead of the king there was a Raja, the pawns were infantry, the cavalry, accordingly, consisted of horses, and the army also included war elephants and a chariot made of a rook. The figures had four colors: red, yellow, green and black. Players took turns throwing a die, which determined which piece would make the move. If a one was rolled, the move was a pawn, a two was a knight, the number three meant a rook move, four meant a bishop, five and six meant a king move. The queen, also known as the queen, was absent from chess. The game ended when all the enemy pieces were eliminated.

Evolution of the game

Over time, chess began to be imported from sunny India to other countries. Thus, the Chinese called chess “Xiangqi”, the Japanese - “Shogi”, and the people of Thailand - “Makruk”. It was only in Persia that the current name for chess originated. The Arabs called their ruler the Shah, which is why they called the chess king that.

Rules and names changed, chess evolved. The dice were abandoned, and the number of players was reduced to two people. The color of the figures became traditionally black and white. The name of the pieces in chess remains unchanged. Some of them have changed their name. So, Raja became Shah. Since there were two kings, it was decided to weaken one of them and make a queen. The Persians also introduced the final result of the game - checkmate to the king. In the Persian language, the word chess means “the Shah is dead.”

The game traveled a long way until it reached Rus'. Chess did not come to us from Europe. It is believed that Tajiks brought chess to Russia in the 9th century BC. That is why the names of chess pieces are translated literally from Arabic and Persian. And already in the 11th century, the rules of the game of chess reached Rus'.

Chess set

To play chess you will need one that is divided into 64 squares of two colors: black and white.

Horizontal and vertical fields have their own designations. Horizontally, these are numbers from one to eight, and vertically, these are letters from A to H, thus, each field has coordinates. How many pieces are there in chess? Each player on the field must have two rooks, a pair of knights, two bishops, eight pawns, a queen and a king. There are 32 pieces in chess, which the opponents divide in half. Next - in more detail about the chess pieces.

King

In Arabic, the king sounds like “al-shah” and translated from Persian means king, but in other languages ​​the meaning of the figure is the most dominant.

This is a very weighty and significant figure, the king, despite its importance, can only move one square, but in any direction. This piece is vulnerable without the protection of the other pieces. Actually, the whole essence of the game is to protect the king from direct moves of other chess pieces. A threat to an exposed king in chess is called a "check". In Russia, the figure is designated "Kr", and in the international system - "K".

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

In Arabic, the word "al-firzan" means "scholar". But there are other assumptions, among which the word means “sage”, “commander”, etc. In the 15th century, the queen appeared in Europe with new capabilities; now the piece could move to different distances along all diagonals and lines on the chessboard. The queen is designated by the letter "F". "Q" is the queen in the international system. In many countries the queen is called the queen.

Rook and bishop, they are also tour and officer

In the distant past, the rook served as a chariot and was depicted as harnessed horses. Such a chariot was called "rukh". In Arabic, al-rokh means "tower". Hence the appearance of the figure. It moves across the field only horizontally or vertically, and is located on the outermost boards. This figure is designated in Russia capital letter"L", and in Europe - the letter "R".

The names of the pieces in chess do not always correspond to their appearance. So, for example, the chess piece elephant used to really have a form, but over time it began to be depicted in the guise of a person. Designations: here it is “C”, abroad “B”. The bishop moves only along the diagonal of its color; the player will have one bishop on the white diagonal, and the second on the black diagonal.

Knight in chess

This figure really looks like a horse. "Al-faras" in Arabic means horseman. This figure once had a rider, but over time it was removed. A knight's move can only be made in the form of the Russian letter "G", i.e. two squares straight and one to the side. The horse is written with the Russian "K" and the English "N". This is the only piece that can move in a non-straight path and jump over its own and opponent’s pieces.

Foot soldiers

The pawn is the only piece that is not recorded in any way and has such a significant number on the playing field. "Al-beyzaq" translated from Arabic means infantryman. A pawn can only move forward one square.

The chess pieces, photos of which are included in this article, will help you become more familiar with the exciting world of chess.

Each beginner's ability to master the game of chess manifests itself differently, much depends on the mindset, efforts, and desires, but the first steps are the same for all beginning chess players. The first step is to learn the rules for placing pieces in front of the game, then important point is the study of the principles of how chess pieces move around the board. They are necessary for everyone who wants to start mastering chess. The rules for moving pieces have not changed throughout the long history of the game and are used in all countries.

King's capabilities

Despite the fact that the king is the main piece, without which the game cannot continue, the capabilities of this piece are extremely limited. The entire chess army is obliged to reliably protect it from enemy attacks.

In the initial setup, the king is located in the center on horizontal 1 if it is white chess, or on strip 8 for black pieces. He stands on a square of a different color. That is, the black king is on a white square, the white one is on a black one. The figure has no restrictions in the direction of movement. She can move during the game:

• forward or backward,
• left or right,
• along all diagonals.

But the length of the king's move is small, only a square. The king has the opportunity to “kill” the opponent, provided that he is on an adjacent square. He should not be in the zone of action of someone else's piece. If the king does not have the opportunity to escape or take cover, the position is called “checkmate” and a defeat is counted.

Moving the Queen

Sometimes this figure is called the queen, which is quite consistent with its unlimited capabilities. It is not for nothing that the queen is equal in importance to 9 pawns; it has an excellent opportunity to move freely across the entire board if there are no obstacles. Like the king, the queen has the privilege of moving in all directions. Moreover, the figure is capable of moving to any number of fields, regardless of their color. This is the most powerful, mobile participant in the battle; this figure can only be sacrificed as a last resort. It is very difficult to win a game without a queen.

Rules for movement of elephants

Another name for the figure is “officer”. This piece, indeed, as an efficient warrior, can perform difficult tasks and defeat the enemy on the other side of the board. There are several rules for elephants:

• Each player has 2 bishops at the beginning of the game;
• pieces move only along fields of their own color, on which they are placed before the game;
• the bishop moves in chess only along diagonals for any number of squares;
• he doesn't jump over pieces.

If there are enemy pieces on the diagonal directions accessible to a given officer, he can “eat” them. To do this, the “killed enemy” is removed and an elephant is installed in its place. According to the value scale, 1 officer replaces three pawns.

Movement of the knight on the board

The chess knight has the most complex trajectory; this piece moves along a path in the shape of the letter “L”. In order to rearrange it, you need to count three cells horizontally or vertically and one cell to the right or left. The color of the squares for the knight does not matter; in total, a figure standing three squares from the edge or further has eight options for movement. They are chosen depending on the situation on the board. The advantage of the knight is its ability to jump over any piece; their presence is not an obstacle for the knight. If there is an enemy unit at the end of its trajectory, it is removed and considered “eaten” (cut down).

Rook movement

Some amateur chess players call this piece a tour. Players also try to preserve it and not sacrifice a piece unless absolutely necessary. The value of a rook lies in its free movement. It is limited to straight lines. But:

• The color of the fields does not matter;
• you can move forward and backward, left and right;
• the number of cells in one move is not limited;
• It is possible to use castling.

Tura does not jump over pieces; if there is an enemy unit in the way, you can “cut it down”, place the rook on this square, and remove the knocked down piece.

In some cases, castling can save the king from checkmate and improve the situation. Only the king of the tour can participate in it along with the king. Such an operation can only be carried out if both participants have not yet made a single move in the game. When castling, the king is moved two squares towards the rook, and it is placed next to him on the other side. The simultaneous rearrangement of two pieces in chess is allowed only in castling.

Rules for pawn moves

Before the game, eight pawns are placed in a row on the second rank in front of the major pieces. For white chess this is lane number 2, for black chess it is number 7. These figures are considered insignificant, are soldiers of the army who perform minor tasks, often being sacrificed for more important goals. However, their role should not be belittled; in some cases, pawns can turn the tide of the game.

The rules for moving pawns are simple; they move only one square forward. The pawn cuts the enemy only diagonally; it cannot “eat” the piece standing in front. There is one more exception. On the first move from the initially lined up row, a pawn can be moved forward two squares at once.

All chess pieces perform two important tasks. They provide protection to the king, preventing stalemate and checkmate, and try to knock down as many opponents as possible.

The pawn has one more important goal - it needs to reach the opposite edge of the board. This is extremely difficult to do, since there are many chances of being “eaten” along the way. In addition, this piece is often sacrificed to protect more important units. However, if such a task can be completed, a miraculous transformation occurs with the pawn; it can become any other piece the player needs in this moment. In most cases, she will successfully transform into a powerful queen. But this is not necessary; the player can choose a knight, tura or bishop if he needs these pieces to win.

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