Why do we have knights...

...But not spiders? Looking at the way the knight moves, wouldn't it be better if they were a spider? 😕

Originally posted by Marinkatomb
...But not spiders? Looking at the way the knight moves, wouldn't it be better if they were a spider? 😕

Because they'd escape the board, weave their web above your bed, and drop on your head just as you were trying to fall asleep, thus checkmating you.

Sleep tight, now...

Originally posted by Marinkatomb
...But not spiders? Looking at the way the knight moves, wouldn't it be better if they were a spider? 😕

A spider? Why not a dog, because it goes doglegged.

What about Reindeer? Reindeer to reindeer three checkmate!! 😵

Lay off the eggnog, you lot!

Originally posted by Marinkatomb
...But not spiders? Looking at the way the knight moves, wouldn't it be better if they were a spider? 😕

I thought they were originally elephants.

Originally posted by caissad4
I thought they were originally elephants.

No, that's the bishops. Knights were always knights, or at least cavalrists.

Originally posted by Shallow Blue
No, that's the bishops. Knights were always knights, or at least cavalrists.

I thought rooks were originally elephants?

Bishops were boats.

??

edit: Apparently that theory is not widely accepted. 😳

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturaji

Originally posted by wolfgang59
I thought rooks were originally elephants?

Bishops were boats.

Bishops were elephants, rooks were chariots - that's why they go that fast. As that Pikiwedia article notes, in the four-player version, the rooks, not the bishops, were boats; but I've read no source which takes Piki's theory that one was the origin of the two-player game seriously any more. Everybody now agrees that it was the other way 'round.

The relationship between man and woman was the origin of the game. It's always been about mating.

Originally posted by Paul Leggett
The relationship between man and woman was the origin of the game. It's always been about mating.

Meaning that the Indians were all homosexual, and it took mediaeval Europeans to discover that you could have sex with women as well?