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From The Calendar today:

Chess as we know it was first played in the 1400s, though the names and movements of the pieces have changed. The king, or "rex", originally had a "trailing minister", later known as the "dame", which eventually became the powerfully mobile queen. The bishop was once the "fool" and was depicted accordingly. The word pawn derives from the Latin pedo (foot soldier), related to the Old French words peon and pioneer. The rook's name was not affiliated with the ravenlike bird but came from Perisan rukh (warrior), while another Persian word, shag-mat, was corrupted into "checkmate". According to W. C. Hazlitt's Faith and Folklore of the British Isles (1870): "Chess-boards were made of wood, bone or even ivory, the last being valued at three cows or six pence."

On a completely different note, I have a question about Roman Legions:

Can anyone tell me/point me at a reliable website about the structure of a Roman Legion ? I know they consisted of Centuries, under Centurions, but I have half an idea that a Century wasn't 100 men, it was 110 or something unexpected. Did a Decurion have charge of ten men ? If so, why do I have this idea that a Decurion was more important than a Centurion ? How to the cohorts/auxiliary cohorts fit in ? Did it depend which legion ? What rank was a Legate ? Etc.