Courier chess

Courier chess, also called the courier game or by its German name Läufer-spiel, is a chess variant that dates probably from the twelfth century and remained popular for at least six hundred years. It stands as one stage in the slow evolution from medieval chess towards the modern game. The variant takes its name from one of its most powerful pieces, the courier or runner, called the läufer in German, which moves like the modern bishop. That diagonal move was unique at the time the game was introduced, which is why the piece lent its name to the whole variant.