Recently GM Simon Williams recently wrote an article for chess.com titled, “Name Your Pawns”, in which he provided proper names for the files of his chess board.
And I thought …what a great idea!
Here are my submissions to this theme.
Let’s start with the divine.
If I were a fundamentalist Christian (I am not – just go with idea),
I would first rename my files from White’s side.
a=ANGEL (or ABEL)
b = BIBLE
c = CHRIST (or CAIN, CHOIR, or CHORUS – the last two referring a collection of ANGELS)
d=DAVID, DANIEL, DECALOG (the Ten Commandments.)
e=ELIJAH, EDEN, EXODUS, EPISTLE
f=FAITH (and the FLOOD)
g=GENESIS, GOSPEL
h=HEAVEN
And if we were to play on a 10 x 10 board, then ISIAH and JESUS.
But that only takes care of the files on the White side. Here are the newly named files for the Dark side.
a=ARCHFIEND (another name for the Devil)
b= BAAL, BEELZEBUB, BABEL
c=CALLICANTZAROS (Greek vampires that would feed on children born around Christmas time.)
d=DEMON, DEVIL, DEMONESS, and DELILAH (she’s the one who had a servant cut off Samson’s hair, rendering him vulnerable.)
e=EVIL
f=(the) FALL (of Adam and Eve, mankind, and Satan)
g=GOLGOTHA (hill where Christ was supposedly crucified) and GAGA (a minor Babylonian deity.)
h=HELL
And if we were to play on a 10 x 10 board, then INCUBUS and JUDAS.
Of course, one may also choose other themes for renaming their files. For example, Baseball!
a=ANGELS, ATHLETICS
b= BRAVES, BREWERS (one could also consider the BOSTON Red Sox and BROOKLYN Dodgers)
c=CHICAGO CUBS, CARDINALS
d=DODGERS (this time, the Los Angeles team) or the DRAGONS (it is both the name of Japanese major league team and a minor league team of Dayton, Ohio.)
e=EXPOS
f=FIREFLIES (a minor league team of Columbia, South Carolina)
g=GIANTS
h=HOUSTON Astros
And, of course, the Indians and the (Blue) Jays would follow.
So, be creative. Find what interests you might (other than chess) and see if you are willing to change names of the files on your board!
The Gambit Chess Player 