Chess piece

In chess game both players use each a set of 16 tiles, which are referred to as pawns. The two sets are similar and differ only in that color. Traditionally, the colors are referred to as white and black and are in practice usually the modeled, such as light and dark wood.

The 16 chess pieces are made a party to the king, the queen, two towers, two bishops, two jumpers and eight pawns. This composition is emblematic of court and army traditional kingdoms.

In another, the colloquial sense be designated by the word figure all the chess pieces. This also corresponds to the current and official language of the FIDE rules. In the traditional mode of expression of German chess player, the term figure, however, the farmer does not include, since they differ fundamentally from the other stones. The term is also used to restrict the minor pieces. In chess books is usually meant one of these narrower meanings.

Platoons

The individual pieces differ in their patterns of movement. This is in the eight figures always rotating and mirror symmetry ( " in all directions " ), and there is no difference between pure movement and tensile impact. The farmers, however, can only move "forward" (toward the opposing camp ) and propose different than they attract.

"Straight" means horizontally and vertically, " diagonally " parallel to a diagonal.

When setting up the stones is that the lady is standing on a field of their color ( " The lady loves her color" ). In particular, in the absence of labeling, note the 90 ° orientation of the board, resulting in a white box in the corner is the front right.

Exchange value

In the older literature, chess and game analysis in all figures except to the peasants and kings are often referred to as officers. Differences are major pieces ( checkers and towers ) that the opponent's king can mate with their king each alone, if no other characters are left on the board, and minor pieces ( knights and bishops ) who can not mate with the same constellation.

In order to compare the relative strength of both sides, the approximate value of the figures is given in the so-called peasant units. Common values ​​are:

  • Springer three farmers,
  • Runners three farmers,
  • Tower five farmers,
  • Lady nine farmers.

The king can not be beaten, it will not be counted. In playoff situations where no immediate danger of Matt and the King will be active, combat value is usually between a minor piece and a tower.

Bishops and Knights are scored equally as approximately. The rotor can act at greater distances and dominated on average more fields than the knight, but he is bound to his field color. Since both runners along circumvent this drawback, the bishop pair in middle and endgame is usually stronger than two knights.

There has been in the chess literature several attempts to clarify the above values ​​. So Howard Staunton stated in his Chess- Player 's Handbook that a Springer 3.05, a runner 3.5, a tower 5.48 and a lady were worth 9.94 pawns. Already in the manual of chess from 1852 it was stressed that the current value of a particular figure largely dependent on their stationing and possible moves. Emanuel Lasker wrote in his textbook of chess that compare values ​​between the figures only apply " ceteris paribus ". More recently, the U.S. IM Larry Kaufman has proposed the following values ​​according to statistical studies in chess databases: Springer 3.25, 3.25 runners (plus a bonus of 0.5 for the bishop pair ), Tower 5, lady 9,75.

For the added value of a tower against a minor piece of the quality of expression is common. The exchange their own minor piece against an enemy tower is therefore referred to as a quality win for the opponent, however, as loss of quality. An exchange sacrifice is the deliberate exchange of a tower against a minor piece. Related to this is the need to achieve a balance with material disadvantage other advantages. This can for example be increased speed or positional advantage.

Colloquially use chess players like the corruption of jellyfish for quality. The tradition-rich club newspaper Chess Club Kreuzberg eV in Berlin called for example cross jellyfish.

Design

The generally accepted figure today form called Staunton characters, was created in 1849 by Nathaniel Cook, promoted by the then leading player Howard Staunton, and adopted in 1924 by the World Chess Federation ( FIDE ) at its foundation. The design of the epitome of clarity, Symbolism and subdued by its practicality. The worldwide success of these figures in the 20th century founded by its massiveness and uncomplicated production as a commodity. The measures proposed in Germany from 1934 figures in the federal form design have not established itself internationally.

Historically, the appearance of the chess pieces reflecting more complex social and cultural background, as it transfers the rules of the game in its shape. A famous historic design is for example represented by the Lewis chessmen, which were probably made ​​in the 12th century in Norway.

A pure form tries Josef Hartwig (1880-1950) with his figures designed for the so-called " Bauhaus chess game" of 1923. 1924 The modified design is based only on the three basic shapes triangle, circle and square.

Figure identifications

Since the names of the figures of the national language are dependent, preferred character icons ( figurine notation ) are represented in international publications. The names of the figures represent in many languages ​​a feudal state around a royal couple after. In some languages ​​they are understood as figures of an army (no pair).

505538
de