I’ve never even noticed it before, but here’s why the bishop always has a slit in chess

Every day, a brainrot post goes viral on Twitter that leaves me wondering what the purpose of a random thing is. This week, it’s that slit in the bishop on a chessboard. Everyone’s wondering what it’s there for after a tweet went viral this week, which has the top of the bishop circled and says: “Hey @grok, what is this cut even for?”

You’ve probably never noticed it before, but the bishop is the only chess piece that has a slit in the top of it. On every single chess set, it will always be the same, and none of the other pieces, like the pawn, queen or castle have it. So, what on earth is it for? Here’s a little chess history lesson for you.

Hey @grok, what is this cut even for 😭 pic.twitter.com/ZqGbvazgjk

— 𝑷𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒊𝒆𝒆 (🍹) (@pookie_770) May 11, 2026

The slit is there to represent the mitre, the ceremonial, two-pointed hat that Christian bishops and popes wear. The tall headdress has two peaks and a gap in the middle, so the slit is the best way to represent this in a solid chess piece. It also distinguishes the bishop from the pawn on a chessboard, because both pieces look quite similar.

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These “Staunton” chess pieces we used today were designed in 1849 by a man called Nathaniel Cook and manufactured by the games company John Jaques of London. The set is named after Howard Staunton, who was the most famous chess player of the era, and we have continued to use them ever since.

Before 1849, chess did exist, but sets varied wildly by country and region, making it really tricky to play internationally. They were also very expensive, which meant playing chess was only really for the elite. The Staunton design made a set of universally recognisable pieces inspired by Victorian architecture, and the world never looked back.

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Featured image credit: Twitter