Chess symbols are part of Unicode. Instead of using images
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimension ...
, one can represent chess piece
A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either white or black, and it can be one of six types: king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, or pawn.
Chess sets generally come with si ...
s by symbols that are defined in the Unicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...
character set. This makes it possible to:
* Use figurine algebraic notation, which replaces the letter that stands for a piece by its symbol, e.g. ♘c6 instead of Nc6. This enables the moves to be read independent of language (the letter abbreviations of pieces in algebraic notation vary from language to language).
* Produce the symbols using a text editor
A text editor is a type of computer program that edits plain text. Such programs are sometimes known as "notepad" software (e.g. Windows Notepad). Text editors are provided with operating systems and software development packages, and can be u ...
or word processor
A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features.
Word processor (electronic device), Early word processors were stand-alone devices ded ...
rather than a graphics editor
In computer graphics, graphics software refers to a program or collection of programs that enable a person to manipulate images or models visually on a computer.
Computer graphics can be classified into two distinct categories: raster graphic ...
.
In order to display or print these symbols, a device must have one or more font
In movable type, metal typesetting, a font is a particular #Characteristics, size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "Sort (typesetting), sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of ...
s with good Unicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...
support installed, and the document (Web page, word processor document, etc.) it is displaying must use one of these fonts.
Unicode version 12.0 has allocated a whole character block at 0x1FA00 for inclusion of extra chess piece representations. This standard points to several new characters being created in this block,http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1FA00.pdf including rotated pieces and neutral (neither white nor black) pieces.
Unicode characters
In Unicode, chess symbols are in two groups: * Regular chess symbols, the basic six pieces in black and white (as part of Unicode blockMiscellaneous Symbols
Miscellaneous Symbols is a Unicode block (U+2600–U+26FF) containing glyphs representing concepts from a variety of categories: astrological, astronomical, chess, dice, musical notation, political symbols, recycling, religious symbols, tri ...
), and
* Uncommon and fairy chess
Fairy chess is the area of chess composition in which there are some changes to the rules of chess. The term was introduced by Henry Tate in 1914. Thomas R. Dawson (1889–1951), the "father of fairy chess", invented many fairy pieces and new ...
pieces, in a block named ''Chess Symbols
Chess Symbols is a Unicode block containing characters for fairy chess and related notations beyond the basic Western chess symbols in the Miscellaneous Symbols block, as well as symbols representing game pieces for xiangqi
''Xiangqi'' (; ...
''.
The basic 12 chess pieces
Fairy chess pieces
Chessboard using Unicode
References
Chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
Chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...