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December 2025
On firzán, alferza, reyna and dama
Here is a new text by José A. Garzón, whom I would like to thank. He told us about in Valencia last September.
You can find a summary in English and download the full text in Spanish in PDF format.
It was published in the book Pasiones Bibliográficas 8, which has just been released, edited by the Societat Bibliogràfica Valenciana Jerònima Galés.
Summary in English
The article examines the origin, naming, and nature of the queen in chess, arguing that the late 15th-century reform of the game was not the result of a gradual feminization of an existing piece, but rather the creation of a completely new piece, endowed with a new name, a new movement, and a new strategic role.
In ancient and medieval chess (shatranj), the piece next to the king was called ferz (or firzán, alferza) and had a very limited range of movement. In medieval Europe, under the strong influence of Jacobus de Cessolis’ moral treatise, the piece was often referred to as regina or domina in Latin, and reina in Romance languages. However, these feminine names did not bring about any change in the rules.