The Bishop: BS

“The two Bishops working in tandem can dominate the whole Chessboard”
 

The Bishop (BS) has its origins in the Indian Elephant. In 798 Harun al-Raschid, the Caliph of Baghdad, sent ambassadors and a gift of a white elephant to Charlemagne  (Carolus Magnus, Charles the Great). As members of the clergy they enjoy certain rights such as the right to conduct weddings, immunity from jury service and even the benefit of certain charges on land (tithes). They bear the title ‘Your Eminence’ and in recognition of this fact many kiss the jeweled ring that is placed on their right hand as an indication of their office. An official inscription, part of a royal decree exempting the priests of Sneferu in Egypt from paying taxes was issued in the  reign of King  Pepi-I  of  the  sixth Dynasty.  Vaik: of a benefice,  office, status or position:  to become or fall vacant.

These MoD couriers who work closely with the Foreign Office’s Queen's Messengers, provide a secure service for carrying material classified secret and above outside Great Britain and for top secret and special category material within the United Kingdom. They receive and dispatch and distribute 50,000 items of the nation’s secrets worldwide every month.

Illtyd: 6th century Abbot of Llanwit Major and the most learned Briton of his day. His disciples demanded the old druidic right to exemption from taxes. 

Elder (Old Testament): hereditary head of a household - an office which depended on respect rather than statutory authority. In Moses’ day, elders were chosen by himself and he established government by aristocracy. Later they formed the Sanhedrin. The Church of England has 50+ Bishops. 

New Testament: Elder, Bishop, Presbyter (interchangeable terms). In the 2nd century orders emerged. Elders are mentioned in the book of Revelation. Bible: hippopotamus (Job). 

Ganesha is the elephant-headed god of Hinduism and means ‘Lord of hosts’ (gana) and is revered as the remover of obstacles, the Lord of beginnings, and the Lord of learning who broke off his tusk to write down the epic Mahabharata. Ganesha has two wives ‘achievement’ and ‘intelligence’. 

The word ‘copt’ comes from the Greek word ‘Aigyptos’ and means Egypt. The Coptic church has its own patriarch (Bishop/Pope). 

On Level-1 each player starts the game with BS1 and BS2 (a dark and light Bishop). Because a Bishop moves diagonally they stay on either the light (XL) or dark (XD) cells throughout the game. They are powerful attacking major pieces when they are not blocked in, so you will find it useful to bring them out early. They are sometimes referred to as the ‘Bishop-pair’ (the others being the Knight-pair and the Rook-pair).

The two Bishops working in tandem can dominate the whole Chessboard and to your advantage to keep them on the board until you are well into a game of Chess. Avoid trapping your Bishops behind mps that have become fixed in their positions. A Bishop that works well with the pieces (Pawns, Guards etc) is called a ‘good-Bishop’. A Bishop that is trapped by Pawns (lacking mobility) is called a ‘bad-Bishop’. Placed at the center of a clear board the Bishop commands 13 cells (D-Array).

Bishop Symbols

‘It was a blonde. A blonde to make a Bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window’
(Farewell, My Lovely, 1940)

In India a white elephant is a royal symbol (King of the forest animals). Ganesha is one of the most popular gods in India - the god of scribes who is invoked at the beginning of books - god of journeys, enterprises, wedding negotiations, practical wisdom, god of the sciences and skills, writing, and remover of obstacles. In antiquity people regarded the elephant as the wisest of all the animals because they live the longest - their huge size indicating their noble birth.

Bishop - symbol: BS1 and BS2

Major piece which moves along the diagonals. On Level-1 two of these pieces are used and are placed on $C01 and $F01. 

The Bishops have their origin in the Persian ‘al-fil’ (elephant) which was allowed to jump over one cell. See Vaunt Courier, VC (the jumping Bishop). 

Chaturanga: ‘Hasti’ moves diagonally, jumping over the adjacent cell to the next cell. 

Episcopus - Greek: Episcopos, an overseer, religious or political. 

Hatto: Bishop of Mainz. Noted for his oppression of the poor. During a famine he assembled the poor in a barn and burnt them to death, saying: “They are like mice, only good to devour the corn”. He retired to a tower on the Rhine to escape the plague, but the mice followed him in their thousands and devoured him. 

‘Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?’ The Bishop of Norwich was said to be such a persistent talker that he sometimes forgot to pass the port. 

Bishops are humorously/derisively called ‘magpies’ because they wear black and white vestments. “Crockodiles in the sewers”. In the East a bird of joy and good fortune. The Bishop is known by different names in differing countries: 

This major piece moves on the diagonal cells of the board. Symbol = BS. Historically the Bishop was the ‘elephant’ of Indian Chess, but during the 15th century assumed the present diagonal movement. There is one Bishop for the XL cells (light) and one Bishop for the XD cells (dark). It often happens during a game that one side will have a dark coloured Bishop and the other side a light coloured Bishop. In this case the Bishops of opposite colour are unable to come into contact with each other.

It is also known as a ‘vector MP’ or ‘line MP’. On an empty 8 x 8 board the Bishop controls from 7 to 13 cells depending on the cell position. The Bishops on $C01 and $C08 are sometimes referred to as Queen's Bishops and the other two on $F01 and $F08 as King's Bishops (ISP). A Bishop captures diagonally, either forward or backwards and the range extends on unobstructed cells to the extent of the diagonal line of cells on which the Bishop travels.

If you have many Pawns toward the conclusion of the game then try to capture your opponent’s Bishops, because they can impede the progress of your Pawns more easily than Knights or Rooks. If you have many Pawns at the end of a game and your opponent has a Bishop then try to move your Pawns to cells of a different colour to the diagonal that this Bishop operates on. Having Bishop 1 and Bishop 2 at the end of the game is preferable to having Knight 1 and Knight 2.

The Bishop is long-striding. The Knight is short-winded. The weakness of a Bishop is in the defencelessness of the cells of opposite colour, its main strength in its long-striding ability. BS1 and BS2 fortify each other and can rake two neighbouring diagonals (raking BSs). :rk-BSs. When attacking the King's position they are known as ‘Horwitz Bishops’. 

In the descriptive notation they have the symbols QB and KB. The two Bishops together are valued at more than double the value of one Bishop. A Bishop is often compared in valuation terms with the Knight. 

The Muslim ‘Fil’ with its two protuberances symbolized the elephant from which this major piece obtained its name. This was seen as a Bishops mitre in Europe and a recognition of the status of the church of the period. 

In Mongolia and Tibet the Bishop is called a ‘camel’. 

In medieval carnivals derived from the Roman Saturnalia the ‘Bishop of Fools’ was a burlesque figure who, after a brief, dissipated reign, was actually or symbolically burned to death or otherwise sacrificed. 

In Ireland Fiana Fail is known as the Bishops party. President Devalera spend ten days in the Irish College in Rome before returning home to found Fianna Fail. 

In the USA the Bishop is the symbol of the Republician Party and members of this political party wear elephant-motif ties. In medieval England the power of the Church was recognized in naming this piece a Bishop. But our Bishop (English language) is known as an elephant in Russia, a messenger in Germany, and a court jester in France! 

Power of two Bishops: a Bishop is handicapped by being barred from half the cells of the board, since BS1 moves only on cells of one colour. This handicap disappears if BS2 is still on the board. With open diagonals a team of two Bishops is particularly strong. Because of this, an early exchange of a Bishop for a Knight is to be avoided unless something is clearly gained. 

In the 13th century the Bishop was called ‘Alfyn’, a corruption of its Eastern name, ‘al Phil’, the Elephant. The Alfyn is only allowed to move two cells diagonally and cannot capture a major/minor piece that is nearer or further away. However, the Alfyn has the ability of jumping over any other pieces on its way to capture (see, VC ‘Vaunt Courier’). 

Viscount William Lamb Melbourne: “Damn it all, another Bishop dead - I verily believe they die to vex me”. 

David (Dewi Sant) Welsh: 6th century Bishop of South Wales. 

The elephant is used to personify both India and Africa. 

Order of the Elephant: Danish order of knighthood consisting of 30 knights. 

White elephant: an allusion to the story of a King of Siam who used to make a gift of a white elephant to courtiers he wished to ruin. 

In the RC church a novice must be 16, a deacon 22, and a Bishop 30. In the Church of England the ages are 23, 24 and 30. 

BISHOP ENDING 

When the Kings and Bishop or Kings, Bishops plus some minor pieces are involved in the endgame. 

BISHOPS OF OPPOSITE COLOUR 

When one side has a Bishop on the XL coloured cells and the other side has a Bishop on the XD coloured cells. 

BISHOP OF THE WRONG COLOUR 

Used exclusively to describe a situation where a Bishop cannot assist in the promotion of minor piece 01 or minor piece 08 (Level-1, 8 x 8 board), because the Bishop cannot attack the promoting cell. 

BISHOP’S OPENING 

The XY notation is shown on the left. The acentric notation is indicated on the right. 

01A PA5-E02/E04 - PA5-C04/A02 

01B PA4-E07/E05 - PA4-C13/A03

02A BS2-F01/C04 - BS2-D06/B12 

02B KT1-G08/F06 - KT1-D16/B07

03A PA4-D02/D03 - PA4-C03/B02 

03B PA6-C07/C06 - PA6-C15/B10

Set-up the board and play through the moves shown above. 

BISHOP PAIR 

Bishop 1 and Bishop 2, usually compared to Knight 1 and Knight 2 or a Bishop and a Knight. In some situations the Bishop-pair has a slight advantage over the other two due to greater mobility. 

BISHOP SACRIFICE

Place the MPs/mps on the board as follows: 

The XY notation is used on the left. The acentric is indicated on the right. 

01A  BS2-D03*H07-PA1+CH - BS2-B02*D14-PA1+CH 

01B  KI-G08*H07-BS2 - KI-D16*D14-BS2

02A  KT2-F03/G05+CH - KT2-B04/C09+CH 

02B  KI-H07/H06 - KI-D14/D13

03A  QU1-D01/G04 - QU1-D04/C08 

03B  RO1-F08/H08 - RO1-D17/D15

04A  KT2-G05/E06-PA5+DC - KT2-C09*B08-PA5+DC 

04B  KI-H06/H07 - KI-D13/D14

05A  QU1-G04*G07-PA2++CM - QU1-C08*C11-PA2++CM 

05B  ++WN for :A ++LS for :B

Set-up the board and play through the moves as shown above. Notice in the above example on move 04A that A-BS1 gives +DC (discovered) to B-KI. 

 

Religion and Chess
by Bill Wall

Chess (shatranj) was a legal issue after Mohammad died in 642 A.D. In 655 his son - in - law, Caliph Ali Ben Abu-Talib disapproved the game for his sect of Muslims because of the graven images. 

In 680 the 50th rule of canons was interpreted as forbidding Chess. But the caliphs themselves played and had Chess players in their circle of influence. Legal scholars debated the merits of Chess. It was legal to play Chess if not played with items of chance (dice) and there were no betting or gambling on Chess. 

It was still disapproved in 725 by Sulaiman ibn Yashar but still popular among caliphs, especially when they moved their capitol to Baghdad in 750 and took their top Chess players with them. 

The caliph al-Mahdi wrote a letter to Mecca religious leaders to give up gambling with dice and Chess in 780, but he died in 785 and caliph al-Rashid came to power who was an avid Chess player. 

By 810 the top Chess players in the world were known and recognized and all had sponsors by powerful caliphs. In fact, the word Grandmaster was introduced by caliph al-Ma’mun in 819 AD. 

Chess was getting serious in India as well but tolerated. By 900 there was a problem of players actually wagering fingers in their Chess matches - you lose, you cut off a finger. 

The Egyptian al-Hakim banned Chess in Egypt in 1005 and ordered that all Chess sets and pieces be burned in Egypt. 

Chess had picked up in Europe and pretty soon many of the clergy were spending more time playing Chess than saving souls. In 1061 Cardinal Damiani of Ostin forbad the clergy from playing Chess. He died in 1072 and Chess was resumed in his domain. 

By 1093 the Eastern Orthodox church condemned Chess. The Church stamped out Chess in Russia as a relic of heathenism. 

In Europe some members of the clergy thought that receiving a “check” in Chess was similar to committing a sin which one was able to redeem. A checkmate was similar to committing a sin that was perishable, and thus deadly. 

By 1100 Chess was accepted as a regular feature of noble life in England. It was even a knightly accomplishment to play Chess in 1106 under Petro Alfonsi. Chess was played by the upper classes and excluded women from playing the game. 

By 1115, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire was a Chess addict. Despite that, it was still being banned in the churches up to 1125. John Zonares, a former captain of the Byzantine imperial guard, became a monk and issued a directive banning Chess as a kind of debauchery. 

St. Bernard (1090-1153) forbade his Knights Templars from playing Chess. 

Chess became more popular during the crusades, but Alexander Neckam, a British author, condemned Chess as being frivolous. 

By 1195, the Jews were seriously involved in playing Chess, but Rabbi Maimonides included Chess among the forbidden games for Jews. 

In 1197 the Abbot of Persigny was warning folks not to play Chess. 

In 1208 the bishop of Paris, Odo Sully, banned Chess in Paris to his clergy. 

It was also forbidden in Worcester, England in 1240 by the religious leadership. 

In 1254 St. Louis of France restricted Chess to laymen. Provincial councils were forbidding Chess in France (Beziers). 

King Henry III (1207-1272) instructed the clergy to leave Chess alone “on pain of durance vile”. 

In 1291 the Archbishop of Cantebury, John Peckman, was forbidding Chess. He threatened to put anyone on a diet of bread and water if they played Chess. 

Priests were forbidden to play Chess up to 1299. The Clementine Kormch wrote a series of directions of priests. It included no Chess play. 

Chess was forbidden in Germany in 1310 after the Council of Trier. 

In 1322 the Jewish rabbi Kalonymnos Ben Kalonymous condemned Chess. By 1328 the Jewish laws were interpreted by some Jewish leaders that Chess could be played, but not for money. 

Chess was still forbidden in Germany up to 1329 after the Synod of Wurzburg. 

Charles V (1337-1380) of France prohibited Chess. 

In 1380 William of Wickham (1324-1404), founder of New College, Oxford, and Winchester College, forbade Chess. He was the Bishop of Winchester and the Chancellor of England twice. 

Charles VI (1368-1422) of France continued to forbid Chess. He later became insane. 

In 1405 John Huss (1369-0000?), Bohemian religious reformer, sought repentance for loss of self-control at the Chess table during a game in Prague. 

In 1416 the Jews of Forli, Italy relaxed a bit and forbade all games of chance except Chess. 

In 1420 Werner von Orseln, the Grand Master of the Knights of the Teutonic Order, abandoned the prohibition of Chess on the grounds that Chess was a proper amusement for a Knight. 

By 1476 Chess was being played in France again under Charles the Bold. 

In 1495 the Inquisition saw victims of persecutions stand in as figures in a game of living Chess. The game was played by two blind players. Each time the captured piece was taken, the person representing that piece was put to death. 

By 1500 Chess was a recognized pastime for Jews on the Sabbath. 

In 1549 the Protohierarch Sylvester wrote that those who play Chess shall go to hell and be accursed on earth. This was documented in his work Domostroi (Household Government), a book of principles of family life. This was the first printed book in Moscow. 

In 1550 Saint Teresa of Avila, a Spanish conventical reformer, mentioned Chess in her writings to illustrate ethics and Chess. The Church authorities in Spain proclaimed her patron of Chess players. 

In 1551 Czar Ivan IV (1530-1584), Ivan the Terrible, of Russia banned Chess. 

The leading clerics compiled the Stoglav Collection (council of the Hundred Chapters) in 1551, which prohibited Chess in Moscow. This same document prohibited shaving as well as beards were said to imitate the visage of God and to distinguish Orthodox males from women. 

In 1575 a plague hit Cremona, Italy. Afterwards, all games were considered evil and the cause of their troubles. All games but Chess were banned. 

Chess was still banned in Russia in the 17th century. In 1649 Czar Alexei (1629-1676) found some players playing Chess and had them whipped and imprisoned. 

The Puritans were against Chess and discouraged Chess play. 

Religious leaders who have played Chess include Thomas Becket (Archbishop of Cantebury), Charles Borromeo (Bishop of Milan), Pope Gregory VI, Pope Innocent III, Pope John Paul I, Pope John Paul II, Pope Leo X, Pope Leo XIII, Cardinal Richelieu, and Billy Graham. 

The Ayatollah Khomeini banned Chess when he returned to Iran. It was the only country in the world that banned Chess. He banned the game because he thought it hurt the memory and could cause brain damage and that it contributed to a war-mongering mentality. Prior to that, Iran, under the Shah, was the only Arab country that organized Chess and participated in Chess tournaments, including the 22nd Chess Olympiad in Israel in 1976 (in Haifa). 

In 1996 Chess and other clubs were banned from some high schools in Salt Lake City, Utah. Most of the school board is Mormon which condemns homosexuality. Rather than let gay high school students form an organization, they banned all nonacademic clubs. School board members said federal law gave them only two options: allow all extracurricular clubs or eliminate them all. Some 30 clubs, including the Chess club, were banned for 1996-97. 

Some present day Muslims still maintain that Chess playing is a sin. 

The Bishop
by Bill Wall

The origin of the name of the Bishop is obscure. It was introduced in the 15th century, taking the move of the courier and placed where the Alfil used to be at the set up of the Chess pieces on a Chessboard. 

The appearance of the Muslim fil was formless but with two protuberances said to symbolize the elephant from which the piece derives its name. Perhaps these suggested the Bishop’s mitre, hence bishop, the name used in English-speaking countries since the new game gained acceptance. 

The fil or al-fil (elephant) was also known as the sage or old man in Italy, a Count in the oldest German references, and a fool in France. 

The Spanish players knew that al-fil meant the elephant, but this was not known in other European countries. The elephant was only known to most Europeans through literature, and its use in war was hardly known at all. 

The perversions of the word Alfil led to alphicus (leper), alpinus (the Alpine), africus (the African), Alpheus (a man’s name), and alfiere (the standard-bearer). At a later date in Southern Europe, the name became Delphinus, with its associations with the Dauphin (Dolphin) of France. 

In other countries the Bishop was known as the archer, the runner (laufer), the counsel-keeper, the secretary, the soldier, the monk, the spy (senex), the thief, and the administrator. 

The original name aufin, once the ordinary name for the Bishop in France and England, was replaced by the Bishop. 

The original move of the Bishop (fil) was only three squares diagonally. By 1500 it could move to any open square diagonally. 

Barbara Harris was the first female appointed Bishop of a Massachusetts Episcopal Church in 1989.

Movement and capture

The Bishop moves an arbitrary number of squares in a diagonal direction, but may not jump over occupied squares.  Bishops take in the same way as they move without taking. 

Piececlopedia: Bishop
Historical notes

In the end of the middle ages, the slow Alfil was replaced in the game of Chess by the Bishop. This was part of an overall reform of the rules of Chess, making the game much faster. 

In other languages, the Bishop has different names: it is also called runner (Laufer in German, Loper in Dutch), or fool (Fou in French). 

Bishop graphics

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