Icon Clearinghouse 3

Since Part One showed the most common variant pieces and Part Two showed those named for animals, this page will focus on those named for people and things.

Note that these are subject to all of the same rules and guidelines as Part One, including finding the graphics themselves at /membergraphics/MSiconclearinghouse/ (not the counterpart for this page!).

Pieces

Though not quite as broad and varied as animal-based pieces, the tradition of naming pieces for members of clergy, nobility, royalty, military, and similar figures is just as old.

As with all these pages, note that, even though XBetza notation is given for most, you don't need to feel bound to use those precisely as written.

Clergy & Nobility

Another chess tradition is pieces named for royalty, nobility, clergy, and their staff. Typically, those named for nobility have mainly orthogonal moves, while those named for clergy have diagonal moves, in keeping with the Rook and Bishop respectively.

Most of these pairs of pieces are what I call "rotary counterparts": what one does vertically, the other does orthogonally, and vice versa. There are other such pairs (as seen in Parts One and Four); these are the ones named for clergy and nobility.

Most of these have other icon options in Part One.

The Prince (see Part One) is occasionally used for the Priest.

Court Officers

*In their original games, the Diplomat and Envoy have the ability to suborn enemy pieces (that is, make them switch over to their own side without capturing).

Court Jesters

The figure best known as a Court Jester is known by many other names, and each name has a different move in chess variants. Good thing there are plenty of icons to choose from!

• Fool: W or K
• Jester: mQ (Iron)
• Joker: KAND

Those are just the best-established options. Buffoon, Clown, Harlequin, Jongleur, and Merry Andrew are among other names that they can be known by, and they can have any of the above abilities or others.

Military & Artillery

Another tradition is pieces named for military ranks, artillery, and similar things.

Military Ranks

Among military ranks, enlisted personnel are generally Pawns, while officers are regular Pieces.

Archery

There are almost as many ideas about what an Archer should be able to do as there are games that feature it. However, in looking through them I see most often either two diagonal steps or a (1,2) rifle capture, so the most reasonable standard would seem to be F2cabN, which I use as the default here.

Swords

While there are many interpretations of the Swordsman, only the Bishop-based icon bearing that name here fits the move shown with it. Other moves for swords include:

• mWnD
• KcnAcnNcnD
• fFcfamfF (Pawn-like)

Spears

Spears, in the broad sense, is any piece with sliding or riding forward movement and little to no backward movement. They're usually found in large-board games, set right behind the Pawns when pieces are lined up in three or more rows.

Spears, proper, are usually "Pawnriders" of a sort, sliding where Pawns can only step. As such, they can have most of the same variations.

One interpretation of the Spearman involves rotating its facing at the end of a move; the "northeast" and "northwest" versions represent that.

Other Weapons

The Trident can also be seen as fRbB, fRfB (a type of Spear), fWfF (a Pawn option), and other configurations.

Artillery

The most basic type of artillery is the Cannon. At right are the icons for such pieces.

There actually are multiple takes on what a Cannon can do:

• Pao (Chinese Cannon): mRcpR
• Korean Cannon: pR
• Musketeer Cannon: DKsN

In any case, while the Vao (sometimes called Crossbow or Ballista) was designed as a companion for the Pao, it can rotate any of the Cannons.

• Korean: pB
• Musketeer: AKsN (or DKvN)

Siege Engines

The most basic siege engines in Chess -- the Dabbaba and the Rook -- are included here for reference. (More icon options for them are found in Part One.)

Chariot icons can also be used for the Reverse Chariot (vR).

Movable Architecture

Some chess variants even allow for the movement of ostensibly fixed structures.

Unknown Pieces

These are icons for which no consistent XBetza move was readily available.

(The Tank is sometimes used for Dabbabah or occasionally the Leo (see Part Two), but at least as often has its own way of moving.)

Notes

Among icons I'm missing (or not really satisfied with) and would like to have are Abbess, Centurion, (Naval) Commander, and any other missing military officer ranks.

Last revised by Bob Greenwade.