Queen (chess)

It can move any number of squares vertically, horizontally or diagonally, combining the powers of the rook and bishop.

The predecessor to the queen is the ferz, a weak piece only able to move or capture one step diagonally, originating from the Persian game of shatranj.

The reason that the queen is stronger than a combination of a rook and bishop, even though they control the same number of squares, is twofold.

Compared to other long range pieces (i.e. rooks and bishops), the queen is less restricted and stronger in closed positions.

The queen was originally the counsellor or prime minister or vizier (Sanskrit mantri, Persian farzīn, Arabic firzān, firz or wazīr).

The word fers became grammatically feminized in several languages, such as alferza in Spanish and fierce or fierge in French.

[3] The Carmina Burana also refer to the queen as femina (woman) and coniunx (spouse),[4] and the name Amazon has sometimes been seen.

However, Protestant nations such as Germany and England refused any derivatives of domina as it might have suggested some cult of the Virgin Mary and instead opted for secular terms such as Königin in German and "queen" in English.

[6] In Russian, the piece keeps its Persian name of ferz; koroleva (queen) is colloquial and is never used by professional chess players.

However, the names korolevna (king's daughter), tsaritsa (tsar's wife), and baba (old woman) are attested as early as 1694.

[8] Historian Marilyn Yalom proposes several factors that might have been partly responsible for influencing the piece towards its identity as a queen and its power in modern chess: the prominence of medieval queens such as Eleanor of Aquitaine, Blanche of Castile, and more particularly Isabella I of Castile; the cult of the Virgin Mary;[4] the power ascribed to women in the troubadour tradition of courtly love; and the medieval popularity of chess as a game particularly suitable for women to play on equal terms with men.

[15] The new rules faced a backlash in some quarters, ranging from anxiety over a powerful female warrior figure to frank abuse against women in general.

Asian and Eastern European languages tend to refer to it as vizier, minister or advisor (e.g. Arabic/Persian وزیر wazir (vazir), Russian/Persian ферзь/فرز ferz).

In Polish it is known as the hetman, the name of a major historical military-political office, while in Estonian it is called lipp ("flag", "standard").