I was seeking for another icon for the Bishop but without any success. Help, please!
AFAIK you cannot change the shape of one piece, you can only select the whole piece set (click on your username on top right and select "piece set" from the menu).
By the way, why have the Bishops those slots/slits? Yussupow once asked, no one knew...
FIDE recommends it (or having the head in opposite colour) to differentiate from a pawn better. But that's probably not the historical reason.
I think it's simply because the mitre, the Christian bishop's hat, also has such a slit. Although the bishops of Russian Orthodox Church wear different hats without slits.
@zwenna said in #5:
> I think it's simply because the mitre, the Christian bishop's hat, also has such a slit. Although the bishops of Russian Orthodox Church wear different hats without slits.
This does seem likely, yes. However it's worth pointing out, as you will already well know, that in a majority of languages the word for this piece doesn't refer to a religious leader but something else. In some languages it's even an animal rather than a human.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_(chess)#Name_translations
> I think it's simply because the mitre, the Christian bishop's hat, also has such a slit. Although the bishops of Russian Orthodox Church wear different hats without slits.
This does seem likely, yes. However it's worth pointing out, as you will already well know, that in a majority of languages the word for this piece doesn't refer to a religious leader but something else. In some languages it's even an animal rather than a human.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_(chess)#Name_translations
@zwenna said in #5:
> I think it's simply because the mitre, the Christian bishop's hat, also has such a slit.
I didn't realize that, probably because most pictures of a bishop mitra show it from the front so that it's not seen.
@zwenna said in #5:
> Although the bishops of Russian Orthodox Church wear different hats without slits.
@Brian-E said in #6:
> However it's worth pointing out, as you will already well know, that in a majority of languages the word for this piece doesn't refer to a religious leader but something else.
The "Staunton" piece style most common today (internationally, at least) has its origin in 19th century England so that I suppose the english name for the piece and the shape of bishop mitre used there and then affected the piece shape.
> I think it's simply because the mitre, the Christian bishop's hat, also has such a slit.
I didn't realize that, probably because most pictures of a bishop mitra show it from the front so that it's not seen.
@zwenna said in #5:
> Although the bishops of Russian Orthodox Church wear different hats without slits.
@Brian-E said in #6:
> However it's worth pointing out, as you will already well know, that in a majority of languages the word for this piece doesn't refer to a religious leader but something else.
The "Staunton" piece style most common today (internationally, at least) has its origin in 19th century England so that I suppose the english name for the piece and the shape of bishop mitre used there and then affected the piece shape.
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