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What Do Chess Pieces Represent?

Chess is thousands of years old, and while its rules and pieces have changed, it's among the most recognized games in the world. On each side, a player possesses a king, a queen, two bishops, two knights, two rooks (the castle-shaped pieces) and eight pawns. Each has its own specific rules of movement and a specific role in the game. These fanciful figures carved out of plastic, wood or stone also represent the entire structure of Medieval European society.

The King, Queen and Bishop
- The king and queen obviously represent the monarchy that ruled over most aspects of Medieval life. As such, the king is the most important piece in the game (though the queen is the most powerful and versatile). The bishops represent the Church, the other center of power in the Medieval world. Appropriately, they sit at the right and left of the king and queen, as did many princes of the Church during Medieval times.
The Knight and Rook
- The knight is fairly self-explanatory. It represents the armored aristocratic soldiers from the Middle Ages that rode on horseback. Rooks represent the castles knights often owned or defended.
Pawns
- Pawns, the weakest pieces with the largest numbers on the board, represent Medieval serfs. These were the indebted peasants upon whose backs much of the commerce and wealth in Medieval times was built.

Chess & Checkers