Silly Chess Pieces

Chess. com has upset a lot of people by asking for new names to replace the name of “Bishop.“ They doubled-down on their request by saying that the name of “Bishop” is “silly,” and to stop suggesting it.

The fact of the matter is that “Bishop” is not a universally recognized name for this particular piece; in fact, there are at least 20 other names listed in Wikipedia (

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki… ), depending on the country and language. Most of the names are of different occupations, with three names being of animals, and another three being of inanimate objects.

Of the occupations, the most common name is “Runner” (11 times), which makes sense given that the piece is located between the King and Queen and their respective Knights (i.e., relaying orders and messages between the various parties). Bishop comes in second among occupations at 7 times. Officer and Hunter are tied for third with 4 each. Personally, I’m rather fond of both Jester and Fool, the combination of the two coming in with three.

The most common name, though, is Elephant (16 times), which may have been the original name for the piece when the game was invented. The name of Bishop didn’t come about until the 1200s.

So, give some thought as to what you might rename the chess piece formerly known as Bishop, and let Chess. com know what your suggestion is. Just don’t be silly.