Feature Request: Inclusive Knight Icon to Respect the Beliefs of the Muslim Community

[moeenuddinbhuiyan]

I am a long-time admirer of Lichess and truly appreciate your efforts to make chess accessible, educational, and engaging for everyone. I’d like to propose a feature that could further enhance Lichess’s appeal—especially for the global Muslim community.

Background

In Islamic teachings, Islamic scholars have consistently raised concerns regarding the depiction of the knight piece when it represents a horse head. They argue that such a depiction may conflict with guidelines discouraging the display of statues or figurines of living beings. While these scholars acknowledge chess’s value for intellectual development, they suggest that modifying or abstracting such depictions could address these concerns.

Proposed Change

I propose that Lichess consider creating an optional chessboard set that employs the CBurnett piece set for all pieces—pawn, rook, bishop, king, and queen—while only redesigning the knight. The knight should feature a more abstract representation, as indicated in the attached image.

Note: Please refer to the attached file for a refined version of the knight piece icon.

Potential Benefits

• Inclusivity: Offering an alternative knight design would make Lichess more welcoming to practicing Muslims who might currently hesitate to play due to these concerns.
• Respect for Diversity: This change would reflect Lichess’s commitment to embracing the diverse values of its global user base.
• Broader Appeal: With a significant global Muslim population (around 2 billion), addressing this cultural sensitivity could attract many new players.
• Positive Public Image: An initiative like this reinforces Lichess’s reputation as a forward-thinking, inclusive platform.

As someone who values both the educational benefits of chess and cultural inclusivity, I believe these changes could further solidify Lichess’s position as a leader in the global chess community. I am also willing to contribute in any way possible, including financially, to help bring these features to life.

Thank you for considering this suggestion. I look forward to your feedback.

— Moeen Uddin Bhuiyan, Bangladesh

[veloce]

This is the mobile application repository, and we follow the website for consistency.

New piece sets are usually submitted in the Lila repository, and if they get approved, we'll eventually integrate them in the app.

Note that lichess team do not have the resources to create piece sets. We are only integrating already made ones if they get approved.

[moeenuddinbhuiyan]

So can you please give me steps what can I do now to get this thing done? Like should I submit this feedback in the Lila repository? Or anything else?

Thank you for your time