Chess Blog

Have you ever played the game of chess? Did you know that chess game is one of the oldest skill games in the world that still exists today? However, chess is more than just a game that requires skills. It can even tell you more about the way people have lived in the medieval times. If you will carefully study the way the chess board is set up, each of the chess pieces, and how they are used, you will be able to realize that chess game is the history of medieval times itself. The six different pieces of the chess game on the board is a representation of the cross section of life in medieval times with its king, queens, grandeur, and wars.

Chess games were played many centuries ago in India, China, and Persia and later on spread throughout Europe. The Europeans gave the chess pieces the names we all know today. They probably had trouble with the Persian names so they modernized each chess piece name to reflect the way they had lived. Today, the chess pieces names are certainly not modern but thousand years ago, they have represented the rank of people that had lived and breathed in their country.

The pawns on the chess board represent the laborers or the serfs. There are many of them on the board than any other pieces, and they are often the ones who are sacrificed to save a more valuable major piece on the board. In the medieval times, the laborers or serfs were considered a property of landowners. Life was difficult and brutally hard for them during this era of history. They worked very hard and died very young. They are the ones left unprotected during wars and used in trading, as a diversion, or even a sacrifice for the landowners to be safe.

The rooks are the homes or the refuge just like the homes in medieval times. They are initially positioned on both sides to protect the other chess pieces. It is commonly shaped as a castle.

The knights however, represent the soldiers in medieval times whose job was to protect the major or key persons with rank. There are two of them in each player’s side. The knights are more important that the pawns but less vital than the bishops, king, or queen. Their purpose in the game is to protect other important chess pieces as well as attack the opposite side to capture opponent’s pieces. They can also be sacrificed when necessary just like the pawns when the situation will harm the more important chess pieces on the board.

The bishop in the chess game represents the church. In medieval times, the church was a wealthy and mighty force, thus religion plays a very important part in every person’s life. A bishop is a name for a priest in the Catholic Church. There are two bishops also in the game of chess.

The queen is the only piece in the chess board that represents a woman and she is the most powerful among the chess pieces on the board. There is only one queen in every game of chess. The queen in the medieval times held a powerful but dangerous position. Her advice often guided the king.

The king is the most important piece even though it is not the most powerful piece on the chess board. He must be well defended in order to continue the game. In the medieval times, the loss of the king or even just surrender means the loss of the kingdom to the invading forces. To keep the king safe from attack and capture is the objective of every chess pieces. If you do not keep your king safe, you could lose the game.