The Bishop needs to consider his next move carefully.
Not much to say about this meme. It kind of speaks for itself.
But since I'm here I think its interesting to note the chess
piece we know as the queen has not always been designated
as such and in some cultures is still referred to by a different
title.
The Persian game shatranj, from which chess slowly
developed had only male figures; shah (king), fers or wazir
(counselor), rukh (rook), pil (elephant), asb (knight), sarbaz
(soldier or pawn). The fers piece most closely resembled the
queen but was much weaker being able only to move one
space diagonally.
As chess spread across Europe from Spain something curious
happened. The term fers was increasingly used in its feminine
form before being replaced by other terms such as femina,
coniunx, or Amazon. But even before the name change some
chess sets depicted the fers as female.
The reason for this shift is not well understood. Everything
from the cult of Mary to the preeminence of certain female
rulers in Western Europe has been suggested. Supporting this
idea is the fact that Eastern Europe and the Arabian world
still use the old term fers (or equivalent).
The expansion of the queen's power on the chess board is
thought to have occurred in Spain during the reign of Queen
Isabella I and may have been inspired by her political power.
As a final humorous aside, for the longest time a pawn could
not be made a queen if the original one was still on the board
(to avoid the scandal of polygamy). Eventually, it was allowed
with the second piece referred to as a 'ferzia' to account for
this.
Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour
But since I'm here I think its interesting to note the chess
piece we know as the queen has not always been designated
as such and in some cultures is still referred to by a different
title.
The Persian game shatranj, from which chess slowly
developed had only male figures; shah (king), fers or wazir
(counselor), rukh (rook), pil (elephant), asb (knight), sarbaz
(soldier or pawn). The fers piece most closely resembled the
queen but was much weaker being able only to move one
space diagonally.
As chess spread across Europe from Spain something curious
happened. The term fers was increasingly used in its feminine
form before being replaced by other terms such as femina,
coniunx, or Amazon. But even before the name change some
chess sets depicted the fers as female.
The reason for this shift is not well understood. Everything
from the cult of Mary to the preeminence of certain female
rulers in Western Europe has been suggested. Supporting this
idea is the fact that Eastern Europe and the Arabian world
still use the old term fers (or equivalent).
The expansion of the queen's power on the chess board is
thought to have occurred in Spain during the reign of Queen
Isabella I and may have been inspired by her political power.
As a final humorous aside, for the longest time a pawn could
not be made a queen if the original one was still on the board
(to avoid the scandal of polygamy). Eventually, it was allowed
with the second piece referred to as a 'ferzia' to account for
this.
Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour
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