Why is the knight a horse chess piece?
Great Question! The knight is not always a horse, or course (sorry) Chess came from an older (6th cen.) Indian board game called caturaṅga which in Sanskrit means four divisions (as in “of the military”) – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry- these would become the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively) So what you see in modern chess is an old Indian war game that smacked into medieval European sensibility. That’s why there are pieces that are strictly war-like (the chariot becoming a “castle”) and pieces that are quasi political/religious (the bishop or the queen and king.) In Europe the game was sped up a bit by giving some powers to the pawn, queen and bishop but the knight has had the same method movement for (arguably) longer than chess has existed! BTW- you should play chess- it’s great for you and fun too!!
In many chess sets, especially old or specialty ones, the piece shows both the horse and its rider, who would be the knight on his steed. To simplify the design, the pieces were made to focus on one outstanding trait, and the trait of the knight was his horse. The prevalent design we see today is the Staunton design from 1849, an advertisement at the time was “A set of Chessmen, of a pattern combining elegance and solidity to a degree hitherto unknown, has recently appeared under the auspices of the celebrated player Mr. STAUNTON. A guiding principle has been to give by their form a signification to the various pieces – thus the king is represented by a crown, the Queen by a coronet, &c. The pieces generally are fashioned with convenience to the hand; and it is to be remarked, that while there is so great an accession to elegance of form, it is not attained at the expense of practical utility. Mr. STAUNTON’S pattern adopts but elevates the conventional form; and the base of the Pieces
