Chess Piece Name Generator

Real and invented pieces for every board

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Generate chess piece names: the standard six in other languages, like Springer (German knight) and Fou (French bishop), fairy and variant pieces like Amazon, Nightrider and Drunk Elephant, plus invented pieces such as Spymaster, Trebuchet and Mirror Queen for homebrew sets.

About chess piece names

Chess has six standard pieces: the king, queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn. Players also call the rook a castle and the knight a horse, and those nicknames are close to what other languages say outright. The game reached Europe from Persian and Arabic shatranj, where the queen's ancestor was the ferz, a counselor, and the bishop's was the alfil, an elephant. Spanish still says Alfil, Russian still says Ferz and calls the bishop Slon, the elephant, while German made the same piece a runner (Läufer) and French a jester (Fou).

This list mixes real piece names with invented ones, and the label tells you which is which. A name with a label in parentheses is an attested piece, given with its language, game or variant: Springer (German knight), Hetman (Polish queen), Amazon (fairy chess), Drunk Elephant (chu shogi), Cannon (xiangqi). Fairy chess supplies the combined pieces and leapers, such as the Chancellor, Archbishop, Nightrider, Camel and Grasshopper, and the shogi family supplies generals, dragons and birds in English translation.

Names without a label, 150 of them, are invented for homebrew variants and themed sets: court figures, siege engines, animals, starships and toys. They have no fixed move, so you decide what a Spymaster or a Mirror Queen does.

How to choose chess piece names

  • Read the label first. Parentheses name the language, game or variant a piece comes from; no parentheses means the piece was made up for this list and its move is yours to define.
  • Name a homebrew piece for how it moves. Fairy chess tradition gives leapers animal names (Camel, Zebra, Giraffe) and gives combined pieces a title (Chancellor, Archbishop, Amazon), so players can guess the move from the name.
  • A themed set needs six roles: a royal piece, a strongest piece, a straight-line mover, a diagonal mover, a leaper and a foot soldier. A nautical set could run Flagship, Galleon, Lighthouse, Helmsman, Sea Serpent and Cabin Boy.
  • For a story or a game character named after a piece, try the foreign words. Hetman, Vezér, Alfiere, Huszár and Slon sound like titles or names and still mean queen, bishop or knight to anyone who looks them up.
  • Before you publish a variant, look your piece names up in a fairy chess reference. Many plain words already stand for one specific move, and reusing them for another confuses experienced players.

Frequently asked questions

What are the chess characters called?

The pieces are the king, queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn. Each side starts with one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. The rook is often called a castle and the knight a horse, but rook and knight are the names used in the rules.

Why do chess pieces have different names in other languages?

The game traveled from India through Persia and the Arab world to Europe, and each culture translated or reimagined the figures. The shatranj elephant survives as Alfil (Spanish bishop) and Slon (Russian bishop), but became Läufer (German bishop), a runner, and Fou (French bishop), a jester. The rook is a tower in most of Europe, a boat in Russian and a cannon in Bulgarian.

What is a fairy chess piece?

It is any piece that is not in the standard game, used in chess problems and variants. On this list Amazon (fairy chess) moves as queen plus knight, Chancellor (fairy chess) as rook plus knight, Archbishop (fairy chess) as bishop plus knight, and Nightrider (fairy chess) repeats the knight's leap in a straight line.

Which names on the list are made up?

Every name without parentheses, 150 of the 500, such as Spymaster, Trebuchet, Snow Leopard and Mirror Queen. They were written as ideas for homebrew variants and themed sets and have no set move. A few may happen to share a name with a piece in a variant we did not have in mind, which is why they carry no label.

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All 500 chess piece names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 24 names

  • Aanca (Grande Acedrex)
  • Adventitious King (Tamerlane chess)
  • Advisor (xiangqi)
  • Al-Fil (shatranj elephant)
  • Alchemist
  • Alfiere (Italian bishop)
  • Alfil (fairy chess)
  • Alfil (Spanish bishop)
  • Alibaba (fairy chess)
  • Almoner
  • Alphinus (medieval Latin bishop)
  • Amazon (fairy chess)

A, continued

  • Anchor Pawn
  • Android
  • Angle Mover (shogi bishop translated)
  • Angry Boar (dai shogi)
  • Antelope (fairy chess)
  • Archbishop (fairy chess)
  • Archer (old English bishop)
  • Ashva (chaturanga horse)
  • Asp (Persian horse)
  • At (Turkish knight)
  • Aufin (medieval English bishop)
  • Axiomatikos (Greek bishop)

B: 31 names

  • Badger
  • Baidaq (shatranj foot soldier)
  • Ballista
  • Bannerman
  • Basilisk (Dragonchess)
  • Bastion (Hungarian Bástya translated)
  • Bástya (Hungarian rook)
  • Battering Ram
  • Bauer (German pawn)
  • Beacon

B, continued

  • Beekeeper
  • Benteng (Indonesian rook)
  • Berolina Pawn (fairy chess)
  • Bers (shatar queen)
  • Berserker (Lewis chessmen rook)
  • Bia (makruk pawn)
  • Bidak (Indonesian pawn)
  • Bing (xiangqi soldier)
  • Bishop Pawn (descriptive notation)
  • Biskup (Icelandic bishop)

B, continued

  • Bison (fairy chess)
  • Bispo (Portuguese bishop)
  • Blind Bear (large shogi)
  • Blind Tiger (chu shogi)
  • Boat (chaturaji)
  • Boat (Russian Ladya translated)
  • Bodyguard
  • Bonde (Swedish pawn)
  • Bridge Builder
  • Buffalo (fairy chess)
  • Byeong (janggi soldier)

C: 40 names

  • Caballo (Spanish knight)
  • Cabin Boy
  • Camel (fairy chess)
  • Camel (Hindi Oont translated)
  • Cannon (Bulgarian Top translated)
  • Cannon (Shako)
  • Cannon (xiangqi)
  • Capricorn (large shogi)
  • Cardinal (Grand Chess)
  • Cassia Horse (shogi knight translated)
  • Castellan
  • Castle (nickname for the rook)
  • Cat Sword (dai shogi)

C, continued

  • Cavalier (French knight)
  • Centaur (fairy chess)
  • Cha (janggi chariot)
  • Chamberlain
  • Chameleon (Ultima)
  • Champion (Omega Chess)
  • Chancellor (fairy chess)
  • Charging Knight (Chess with Different Armies)
  • Charging Rook (Chess with Different Armies)
  • Chariot (xiangqi)
  • Cleric (Dragonchess)
  • Coiled Serpent (large shogi)
  • Colonel (Chess with Different Armies)

C, continued

  • Commoner (fairy chess)
  • Coordinator (Ultima)
  • Copper General (chu shogi)
  • Corner Hopper
  • Courier (courier chess)
  • Court Astrologer
  • Crane (tori shogi)
  • Crocodile (Grande Acedrex)
  • Crossbowman
  • Crown Prince (chu shogi)
  • Crowned Knight (fairy chess)
  • Crowned Rook (fairy chess)
  • Cryo Pod
  • Cupbearer

D: 17 names

  • Dabbaba (fairy chess)
  • Dama (Spanish queen)
  • Dame (German queen)
  • Dark-Squared Bishop (standard chess)
  • Decoy King
  • Diagonal Guard
  • Donna (Italian queen)
  • Double Stepper

D, continued

  • Dragon (Dragonchess)
  • Dragon King (shogi)
  • Dragonfly
  • Drawbridge
  • Dreadnought
  • Drone
  • Drottning (Icelandic queen)
  • Drunk Elephant (chu shogi)
  • Duck (Duck Chess)

E: 14 names

  • Eagle (fairy chess)
  • Edge Walker
  • Edgehog (fairy chess)
  • Elemental (Dragonchess)
  • Elephant (Russian Slon translated)
  • Elephant (Seirawan chess)
  • Elephant (xiangqi)
  • Ember Sprite
  • Emperor (large shogi)
  • Empress (fairy chess)
  • Envoy
  • Equihopper (fairy chess)
  • Ettur (Estonian pawn)
  • Evil Wolf (dai shogi)

F: 33 names

  • Falcon (tori shogi)
  • Falconer
  • Faras (shatranj horse)
  • Farmer (German Bauer translated)
  • Farzin (Persian counselor)
  • Ferocious Leopard (chu shogi)
  • Ferryman
  • Fers (medieval English queen)
  • Ferz (fairy chess)
  • Ferz (Russian queen)
  • Field Surgeon

F, continued

  • Fil (Turkish bishop)
  • Fire Demon (tenjiku shogi)
  • Fire Ship
  • Firzan (shatranj counselor)
  • Fiveleaper (fairy chess)
  • Flag (Estonian Lipp translated)
  • Flagship
  • Flamingo (fairy chess)
  • Flying Chariot (shogi rook translated)
  • Flying Dragon (dai shogi)
  • Flying Ox (chu shogi)

F, continued

  • Flying Stag (chu shogi)
  • Fool (Romanian Nebun translated)
  • Fortress (Musketeer Chess)
  • Fortress (Slovene Trdnjava translated)
  • Fou (French bishop)
  • Fox (Wolf Chess)
  • Free Eagle (tenjiku shogi)
  • Free King (chu shogi)
  • Frost Giant
  • Furious Fiend (large shogi)
  • Futó (Hungarian bishop)

G: 23 names

  • Gaja (chaturanga elephant)
  • Gajah (Indonesian bishop)
  • Galleon
  • Gardener
  • Gatekeeper
  • General (xiangqi)
  • Ghoda (Hindi knight)
  • Ghost King
  • Ginsho (shogi silver general)
  • Giraffe (fairy chess)
  • Giraffe (Tamerlane chess)

G, continued

  • Gnu (fairy chess)
  • Go-Between (chu shogi)
  • Gold General (shogi)
  • Golden Bird (large shogi)
  • Goniec (Polish bishop)
  • Grasshopper (fairy chess)
  • Great Dragon (large shogi)
  • Great General (tenjiku shogi)
  • Griffin (Dragonchess)
  • Guardian of the Gods (large shogi)
  • Gung (janggi general)
  • Gyalog (Hungarian pawn)

H: 25 names

  • Haathi (Hindi rook)
  • Halberdier
  • Half Rook
  • Half-Duck (Chess with Different Armies)
  • Harpooner
  • Harvest Cart
  • Hawk (Seirawan chess)
  • Head Chef
  • Heavenly Tetrarch (tenjiku shogi)
  • Heir Apparent
  • Helmsman
  • Herald

H, continued

  • Hero (Dragonchess)
  • Heron
  • Hetman (Polish queen)
  • Hisha (shogi rook)
  • Hologram
  • Hook Mover (large shogi)
  • Horned Falcon (chu shogi)
  • Horse (nickname for the knight)
  • Horse (xiangqi)
  • Hrókur (Icelandic rook)
  • Hunter (Croatian Lovac translated)
  • Hussar (Hungarian Huszár translated)
  • Huszár (Hungarian knight)

I: 7 names

  • Ibex
  • Ice Queen
  • Imitator (fairy chess)
  • Immobilizer (Ultima)
  • Incense Chariot (shogi lance translated)
  • Ippos (Greek knight)
  • Iron General (dai shogi)

J: 9 names

  • Jack-in-the-Box
  • Jackal
  • Janus (Janus Chess)
  • Jester (French Fou translated)
  • Jezdec (Czech knight)
  • Jiang (xiangqi general)
  • Joker (fairy chess)
  • Ju (xiangqi chariot)
  • Jumper (German Springer translated)

K: 24 names

  • Kakugyo (shogi bishop)
  • Kale (Turkish rook)
  • Kangaroo (fairy chess)
  • Keeper of Keys
  • Keima (shogi knight)
  • Khon (makruk bishop)
  • Khun (makruk king)
  • Khüü (shatar pawn)
  • King's Bishop (descriptive notation)
  • King's Knight (descriptive notation)
  • King's Pawn (descriptive notation)
  • King's Rook (descriptive notation)

K, continued

  • Kingfisher
  • Kinsho (shogi gold general)
  • Király (Hungarian king)
  • Kirin (chu shogi)
  • Kmet (Slovene pawn)
  • Knight Pawn (descriptive notation)
  • König (German king)
  • Korol (Russian king)
  • Kraken
  • Kula (Croatian rook)
  • Kuningas (Finnish king)
  • Kyosha (shogi lance)

L: 25 names

  • Ladder Pawn
  • Ladya (Russian rook)
  • Lähetti (Finnish bishop)
  • Lamplighter
  • Lance (shogi)
  • Lantern Bearer
  • Läufer (German bishop)
  • Leader (Hungarian Vezér translated)
  • Leo (fairy chess)
  • Leopard (Musketeer Chess)
  • Light-Squared Bishop (standard chess)
  • Lighthouse

L, continued

  • Lion (chu shogi)
  • Lion Dog (large shogi)
  • Lion Hawk (tenjiku shogi)
  • Lipp (Estonian queen)
  • Locust (fairy chess)
  • Long Bishop
  • Long Leaper (Ultima)
  • Longbowman
  • Lookout
  • Löpare (Swedish bishop)
  • Loper (Dutch bishop)
  • Lovac (Croatian bishop)
  • Lynx

M: 22 names

  • Mage (Dragonchess)
  • Magpie
  • Maharajah (Maharajah and the Sepoys)
  • Mann (courier chess)
  • Mantis
  • Mantri (chaturanga minister)
  • Mao (fairy chess)
  • Marshal (Grand Chess)
  • Master of Hounds
  • Mech
  • Menteri (Indonesian queen)

M, continued

  • Messenger (Finnish Lähetti translated)
  • Met (makruk queen)
  • Miles (medieval Latin knight)
  • Min-gyi (sittuyin king)
  • Minstrel
  • Mirror Queen
  • Mongoose
  • Mori (shatar knight)
  • Mothership
  • Mountain Witch (large shogi)
  • Music Box

N: 8 names

  • Narwhal
  • Nebun (Romanian bishop)
  • Nereid (fairy chess)
  • Night Watchman
  • Nightrider (fairy chess)
  • North Wind
  • Noyon (shatar king)
  • Nutcracker

O: 13 names

  • Oak King
  • Oda (Estonian bishop)
  • Ofitser (Bulgarian bishop)
  • Okapi (fairy chess)
  • Old Kite (large shogi)
  • Old Monkey (large shogi)
  • Oliphant (Dragonchess)
  • Oont (Hindi bishop)
  • Orbital Cannon
  • Osho (shogi king)
  • Otter
  • Outrider
  • Owl

P: 27 names

  • Paard (Dutch knight)
  • Padati (chaturanga foot soldier)
  • Paladin (Dragonchess)
  • Pangolin
  • Pao (xiangqi cannon)
  • Pawn of Pawns (Tamerlane chess)
  • Pearl Diver
  • Peasant (Swedish Bonde translated)
  • Peð (Icelandic pawn)
  • Pedone (Italian pawn)
  • Peón (Spanish pawn)
  • Pepper Mill
  • Peshka (Russian pawn)

P, continued

  • Pheasant (tori shogi)
  • Phoenix (chu shogi)
  • Picket (Tamerlane chess)
  • Pikeman
  • Pil (Persian elephant)
  • Pincer Pawn (Ultima)
  • Pion (French pawn)
  • Pionek (Polish pawn)
  • Po (janggi cannon)
  • Portcullis
  • Pretender
  • Prince (Tamerlane chess)
  • Princess (fairy chess)
  • Privateer

Q: 5 names

  • Quail (tori shogi)
  • Quartermaster
  • Queen's Bishop (descriptive notation)
  • Queen's Knight (descriptive notation)
  • Queen's Rook (descriptive notation)

R: 31 names

  • Ragli (Hebrew pawn)
  • Rainha (Portuguese queen)
  • Raja (chaturanga king)
  • Ratha (chaturanga chariot)
  • Ratsu (Finnish knight)
  • Ratz (Hebrew bishop)
  • Raven
  • Rearguard
  • Reclining Dragon (large shogi)
  • Regent

R, continued

  • Regina (medieval Latin queen)
  • Reverse Chariot (chu shogi)
  • Rex (medieval Latin king)
  • Rhinoceros (Grande Acedrex)
  • Riddari (Icelandic knight)
  • Rikis (Lithuanian bishop)
  • Ring Leaper
  • River Spirit
  • Rochus (medieval Latin rook)
  • Rocking Horse

R, continued

  • Rolling Pin
  • Rook Pawn (descriptive notation)
  • Rookhopper (fairy chess)
  • Rose (fairy chess)
  • Rover
  • Royal Cartographer
  • Royal Knight (Knightmate)
  • Ruea (makruk rook)
  • Rukh (shatranj chariot)
  • Runner (German Läufer translated)
  • Ryuo (shogi dragon king)

S: 59 names

  • Sa (janggi guard)
  • Şah (Turkish king)
  • Salamander
  • Sang (janggi elephant)
  • Sapper
  • Satellite
  • Scarecrow
  • Schleich (courier chess)
  • Scout Ship
  • Sea Serpent
  • Seneschal
  • Sergeant (Wolf Chess)
  • Shadow Pawn
  • Shah (shatranj king)

S, continued

  • Sheepdog
  • Shepherd
  • Shi (xiangqi advisor)
  • Shield Generator
  • Shieldbearer
  • Shooter (Czech Střelec translated)
  • Shuai (xiangqi marshal)
  • Side Mover (chu shogi)
  • Sidestepper
  • Siege Tower
  • Signal Jammer
  • Silver General (shogi)
  • Siren (fairy chess)
  • Sit-ke (sittuyin general)
  • Skakač (Croatian knight)

S, continued

  • Skirmisher
  • Skoczek (Polish knight)
  • Sling Rook
  • Slon (Russian bishop)
  • Snow Leopard
  • Soaring Eagle (chu shogi)
  • Soldier (xiangqi)
  • Sotilas (Finnish pawn)
  • Sparrow (fairy chess)
  • Spear (Estonian Oda translated)
  • Spider (Musketeer Chess)
  • Spinning Top
  • Spiral Knight
  • Springare (Swedish knight)
  • Springer (German knight)

S, continued

  • Spymaster
  • Squire
  • Squirrel (fairy chess)
  • Stag Beetle
  • Standard-Bearer (Italian Alfiere translated)
  • Star Admiral
  • Station Core
  • Stoat
  • Stone Circle
  • Stone General (dai shogi)
  • Storm Crow
  • Střelec (Czech bishop)
  • Swallow (tori shogi)
  • Swap Mage
  • Sylph (Dragonchess)

T: 25 names

  • Teaching King (large shogi)
  • Teapot
  • Teleporter
  • Temee (shatar bishop)
  • Tereg (shatar rook)
  • Thief (Dragonchess)
  • Thornbush
  • Tidecaller
  • Tin Soldier
  • Tokin (shogi promoted pawn)
  • Top (Bulgarian rook)
  • Toren (Dutch rook)

T, continued

  • Tortoise
  • Tour (French rook)
  • Tower (nickname for the rook)
  • Toy Drummer
  • Tractor Beam
  • Trdnjava (Slovene rook)
  • Trebuchet
  • Triton (fairy chess)
  • Turm (German rook)
  • Turncoat
  • Turnstile Rook
  • Twin Knight
  • Tzeriach (Hebrew rook)

U: 2 names

  • Unicorn (Raumschach)
  • Usurper

V: 10 names

  • Valdovė (Lithuanian queen)
  • Vanguard
  • Vanker (Estonian rook)
  • Vao (fairy chess)
  • Vasilias (Greek king)
  • Věž (Czech rook)
  • Vezér (Hungarian queen)
  • Vezir (Turkish queen)
  • Vice General (tenjiku shogi)
  • Vizier (Tamerlane chess)

W: 22 names

  • Waffle (Chess with Different Armies)
  • Wagon (Estonian Vanker translated)
  • War Engine (Tamerlane chess)
  • War Wagon
  • Warder (Lewis chessmen rook)
  • Warp Gate
  • Water Buffalo (tenjiku shogi)
  • Wazir (fairy chess)
  • Wazir (Hindi queen)
  • Well Keeper
  • Whale (chu shogi)

W, continued

  • Whirlpool
  • Wieża (Polish rook)
  • Wildebeest (Wildebeest Chess)
  • Windmill
  • Withdrawer (Ultima)
  • Wizard (Omega Chess)
  • Wizard Stork (large shogi)
  • Wolf (Wolf Chess)
  • Wolverine
  • Woody Rook (Chess with Different Armies)
  • Wrestler (large shogi)

Y: 1 name

  • Yahhta (sittuyin chariot)

Z: 3 names

  • Zebra (fairy chess)
  • Zigzag Runner
  • Zu (xiangqi soldier)