Editing Chess piece (section)

==History==
{{see also|History of chess}}
Chess evolved over time from its earliest versions in India and Persia to variants that spread both West and East.  Pieces changed names and rules as well; the most notable changes was the Vizir (or Firz) becoming the Queen, and the Elephant becoming the Bishop in European versions of chess.  The movement patterns for Queens and Bishops also changed, with the earliest rules restricting elephants to just two squares along a diagonal, but allowing them to "jump" (seen in the fairy chess piece the [[alfil]]); and the earliest versions of queens could only move a single square diagonally (the fairy chess piece [[Ferz]]).  The modern bishop's movement was popularized in the 14th and 15th centuries, and the modern queen was popularized in the 15th and 16th centuries, with versions with the more powerful modern queen eclipsing older variants.

<gallery caption="Sample Medieval chess pieces" widths=210 heights=220>
File:Chess Piece, Pawn or Backgammon Piece MET sf1972-9-28a.jpg|A pawn of quartz from 10th&ndash;11th century ([[Fatimid Egypt]]?).  Islamic chess sets favored abstract designs.
File:Chess Piece in the Form of a Knight MET sf17-190-231s5.jpg|A knight made around 1250 in London, England.  The knight is battling a dragon.
File:Chess Piece, Bishop MET 49.36(1).jpeg|An elephant from the 11th&ndash;12th century Islamic Western Mediterranean (possibly [[Emirate of Granada|Nasrid Granada]]?).  It bears similarities to a [[miter|Bishop's miter]], perhaps explaining the eventual terminology shift.
File:Chess Piece in the Form of a Warder (Rook) or Pawn MET DP318027 (cropped).jpg|A 12th century warder (modern rook) made of whale ivory of Scandinavian origin, similar to the famous [[Lewis chessmen]].
File:Chess Piece in the Form of a Queen MET DP285163 (cropped).jpg|A 13th century Queen astride a horse with attendants, of Scandinavian origin.  The Queen replaced the Persian Vizier in European chess.  
File:Chess Piece, King MET 1971.105.1(1).jpeg|An 8th&ndash;10th century King (Shah) carved of jet.  In the Islamic style, it is an abstract representation, decorated with dot-and-circle devices.
</gallery>
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