Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-30505847-20161114194113/@comment-25316824-20161114195106

Many have speculated as to what the chess motif is all about but nobody doubts that there is symbolism there.

From my perspective, Cinder was always a pawn up until she got Maiden powers. Then she became the Queen (although others have argued that the Queen is Salem).

I prefer that Salem is the King because if Salem dies then the entire syndicate will fall apart while Cinder could die and they would still have leadership. Additionally, the Queen can land powerful long range attacks. In RWBY, long ranged attacks are pretty nerfed except for, wait for it, Maiden powers. More evidence that Cinder is the Queen.

Furthermore, the battle style of Remnent is a lot like chess. The characters often have to deal a critical physical blow in order to end their opponent. Additionally, only one character attacks at a time and when they do a combo attack it is only to call out ship names.