#Chess pieces name how to

The controversy is how to explain how it was possible that chess pieces of Arabic shape were discovered in a tomb of Roman age. The pieces were discovered in a Roman tomb in 1932. It is displayed in the Museo archeologico di Napoli. It was found at Venafro, Italy and is dated about 980 AD. The oldest European chessmen may be some Italian chess pieces made of bone with ivory topping. The four small pieces were made of ivory and preserved in the Mozarabic monastary in Leon, Spain. The Mozarab chess pieces, also known as the pieces of Saint Genadio, may be as old as the beginning of the 10th century. A coin, dated 761 was found with the chess pieces. What was found were seven pieces consisting of a king, chariot, vizier, horse, elephant, and 2 soldiers. The earliest known chess pieces (chatrang) were found at Afrasaib, near Samarkand in Uzbekistan. The piece has a cross on top of it and was found in an old Byzantine or Roman palace. If this is really a chess piece, then it is the oldest chess piece found anywhere in the world. In July 2002, an ivory piece less than 2 inches in size was discovered in Butrint, an ancient Mediterranean city in southern Albania. Countries of the western world translated the earliest names as closely as possible. In Arabic they were shah, firzan, fil, faras, rukhkh, and baidaq. The earliest Persian names were shah, farzin, pil, asp, rukh, and piyada. The earliest Indian chess pieces were called shah (King), wazir (Counselor), fil (Bishop), asp (Knight), rukh (Rook), and piyade (pawn). Wood and Plastic Chess Pieces Chess Pieces - Origins