The medieval Tamerlane chess variant featured this exotic piece that moved similarly to today's knight, leaping over other pieces. The camel is usually represented as an upside-down knight. In many modern variants, the elephant is still present under the name of al fil or simply fil-which is the reason why the bishop is still called 'alfil' in some languages.Īre you curious to see how you would manage the challenge of conducting an attack with your elephantry? Then head over to our Variants page and enjoy a game of chaturanga! The CamelĪnother historical piece that later vanished from the orthodox chessboard is the camel. The elephant could jump over other pieces but could move only two squares at a time. Nevertheless, they can control just four squares at a time, and their regular movement (as opposed to the knight's irregular jump) restricts their reach-each elephant can only ever access eight specific squares of the board. 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.

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.

Alternate names for chess pieces