Larry Smith wrote on Mon, Mar 22, 2004 11:52 PM UTC:
I can completely understand the source of this topic. I know that there
has been several requests that the Archer in Field Chess be re-named
because it doesn't have the 'shoot'. I am one of the guilty.
The naming of playing pieces is the privilege of the developer. Games
with themes have often given names to pieces which might otherwise have
previous designations. And new pieces are sometimes given the title of
pieces which are barely similar.
The standardization of piece names is an ardent task. There are a lot of
published games that would need reconciliation, some of which the authors
are no longer available for such. In the compilation of a list of piece
descriptions, there might be several different forms. This means that the
researcher will just have to accept the labor.
There will develop, over time, a common use of certain piece names. And
these can be tagged as such in the name description.
And whether a particular description of a piece is mentioned will be
totally dependent on the criteria of the list. What ever this evaluation,
it should be fairly applied.
