Dear HGM, I'm sorry to disagree with your demonstration.
It is very unfair to say that the "Spanish abuse the word Alfil". This is denying chess history. First we largely owe the Spanish to have transmitted to the rest of Europe chess from the Arabs in the years 950-1000. Alfil in Arabic is/was "al fil" which means "the elephant". It stayed in Spanish as Alfil, and was adopted in France as "fol" in Occitan, then "fou" in French, meaning "fol". Due to the shape of the piece, also borrowed from the Arabs, with 2 protuberances for the tusks, it was assimilated to a bishop's miter by Englishmen. So the Spanish just kept the name. The move was only modified 500 years later, also first in Spain! It is not because some American and English chessvariant lovers decided to revive the world Alfil in the 20th century that Spanish have abused whatever.
Consider that Russians are calling the bishop a "slon" which also means elephant in Russia! Russia for chess is something no? Spanish are not so wrong after all. But OK, I will not say that English are abusing :=)
I would agree with you that it would be difficult to forget the Gryphon or Griffon for CV lovers, but Aanca no. Aanca is Anka in Arabic and is what I said, a legendary giant Eagle, found in The 1001 Night Tales. In context of chess, it is found in Alfonso X's codex where it has clearly the move of what you call the Griffon. And shall I need to remind that Alfonso X was not writing in modern English but in medieval Castilian. (tired to read that the world griffon is found in the Libro de los juegos from king Alfonso >> it is not!).
Actually, the same Alfonso described a piece, in the same Grant Acedrex, almost moving like W followed by diagonals. Actually, it was just skiping the W squares, first jumping like a knight to the diagonal. That was an Unicornio, that it is demonstrated that it meant a Rhinoceros. Alfonso didn't have access to Wikipedia to check what a Rhino is. So, rather than Aanca, Rhinoceros would be a much better name. This is what I selected for Zanzibar chess.
Calling that piece an Aanca, is like calling the a Bishop a Rook. Absurd.
Dear HGM, I'm sorry to disagree with your demonstration.
It is very unfair to say that the "Spanish abuse the word Alfil". This is denying chess history. First we largely owe the Spanish to have transmitted to the rest of Europe chess from the Arabs in the years 950-1000. Alfil in Arabic is/was "al fil" which means "the elephant". It stayed in Spanish as Alfil, and was adopted in France as "fol" in Occitan, then "fou" in French, meaning "fol". Due to the shape of the piece, also borrowed from the Arabs, with 2 protuberances for the tusks, it was assimilated to a bishop's miter by Englishmen. So the Spanish just kept the name. The move was only modified 500 years later, also first in Spain! It is not because some American and English chessvariant lovers decided to revive the world Alfil in the 20th century that Spanish have abused whatever.
Consider that Russians are calling the bishop a "slon" which also means elephant in Russia! Russia for chess is something no? Spanish are not so wrong after all. But OK, I will not say that English are abusing :=)
I would agree with you that it would be difficult to forget the Gryphon or Griffon for CV lovers, but Aanca no. Aanca is Anka in Arabic and is what I said, a legendary giant Eagle, found in The 1001 Night Tales. In context of chess, it is found in Alfonso X's codex where it has clearly the move of what you call the Griffon. And shall I need to remind that Alfonso X was not writing in modern English but in medieval Castilian. (tired to read that the world griffon is found in the Libro de los juegos from king Alfonso >> it is not!).
Actually, the same Alfonso described a piece, in the same Grant Acedrex, almost moving like W followed by diagonals. Actually, it was just skiping the W squares, first jumping like a knight to the diagonal. That was an Unicornio, that it is demonstrated that it meant a Rhinoceros. Alfonso didn't have access to Wikipedia to check what a Rhino is. So, rather than Aanca, Rhinoceros would be a much better name. This is what I selected for Zanzibar chess.
Calling that piece an Aanca, is like calling the a Bishop a Rook. Absurd.