JM:.. Ravens and rooks are both “corvus” Can anyone inform me if “kafka” indicates the raven or the rook in czech? ( still trusting novelist Murakami’s information). A second question ( related to the original in Russian in the translation provided by Google/Norquist): what does “elephant” mean in the poem?
Didier Machu: As you must know, 'elephant' may mean 'ivory' (elephantine: made of ivory; oliphant / olifant = ivory horn), hence: white piece
As for Philidor, he was a well-known French chess player of the 18th c., named (and esteemed) by Diderot (in Jacques le fataliste) and acquainted with Voltaire, Rousseau and others.
Steve Norquist: Shatranj, the ancient Persian predecessor  of chess, had elephants instead of rooks, in the 7th century, and the queens were far less powerful than in the modern leader of the attack in a chess game, which google usually translates as "party" from the Russian. The game did not evolve into its current "Western" form until the 16th century.
Jerome Katsell: I don't believe "kafka" means raven in Czech. The usual for raven is "hravan," and "vrána" is used for crow. There's also "hravan polní," which means rook, the bird. The other rook, the chess rook/castle is "vĕž". 
David Powelstock.: The Czech for 'raven' is 'havran' (not 'hravan') or 'krkavec,' both of which have been used to translate Poe's poem. 'Kavka' in Czech means 'jackdaw.' It most certainly would not be appropriate for Poe's poem.