Algebraic notation (chess) board. Thus each square has a unique identification of file letter followed by rank number. (For example, White's king starts the game on square e1; Black's knight on b8 can move to open squares a6 or c6.) Each piece type (other than pawns) is identified by an uppercase letter. English-speaking players use the letters "K" for king, "Q" for queen, "R" for rook, "B" for bishop, and "N" for knight (since K is already used). "S" (from the German "Springer") was also used for the knight in the early days of algebraic notation and is still used in some chess
Fairy chess piece Pieces invented for use in chess variants rather than problems sometimes instead have special icons designed for them, but with some exceptions (the princess, empress, and occasionally amazon), many of these are not used beyond the individual games they were invented for. Today's chess exists because of variations someone made to the rules of an earlier version of the game. For example, the queen we use today was once able to move only a single square in a diagonal direction, a "ferz". Today, this piece still starts next to the king, but has gained new movement and became today's queen.