U.S. patent number 3,881,731 [Application Number 05/424,858] was granted by the patent office on 1975-05-06 for chess pieces.
Invention is credited to Laurence E. Droney.
United States Patent |
3,881,731 |
Droney |
May 6, 1975 |
Chess pieces
Abstract
The specification discloses a chess game made up of an ordinary
chessboard and a set of chess pieces in the form of cubes having
symbols of chess pieces on each of the six sides of the cubes, the
symbols being so oriented that when placed on the board, the next
lowest possible value piece faces the opponent of the player. Also,
the opposite sides of each cube total seven when the value of the
piece is considered, when the pawn is considered to be one, and the
king as six, opposite each other; the knight two and the queen five
being opposite each other. This gives the player an immediate
knowledge of the piece on the bottom. The pieces of the two
opponents are identical except for color.
Inventors: |
Droney; Laurence E. (Erie,
PA) |
Family
ID: |
23684167 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/424,858 |
Filed: |
December 14, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
273/291; 273/260;
273/290 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F
3/00697 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63F
3/02 (20060101); A63f 003/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/131,134,137,146,157 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lowe; Delbert B.
Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or
privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A chess set comprising
a plurality of identical chess pieces,
each said chess piece comprising a cube shaped member having six
equal sides,
each said side of a said cube having a different symbol thereon,
each symbol representing one of the chess pieces of a chess
set,
a plurality of boxes,
each said box having five equal sides and an open top,
the inside dimensions of each said box being substantially equal to
the outside dimensions of said cubes,
each said cube fitting snugly into a said box with one side of each
said cube exposed.
Description
GENERAL STATEMENT OF INVENTION
The chess piece disclosed allows chess to be played in the usual
medieval fashion. It also allows for a new method of play, wherein
any piece, or pieces, on the board may become king, queen or any
other piece value. A player must have at least one unchecked king,
at each turn, or the game is lost.
The game where all 16 pieces change value, depending on the way
they are played, I have called "Revolution." This is the way
politicians change status depending upon the moves they make during
a political revolution, and also describes the move or method of
play of the piece. The game where only the rear or royal rank
changes value, I have called "Surrogate Chess." This game allows
any piece except a regular pawn to be a stand-in or surrogate for
the king or any other piece used in the game. A single king, in
check, may be sacrificed without loss of the game if another
surrogate piece has a move that allows it to achieve king value. It
then makes this move, and must be in a non-checked square to
continue the game.
The six values of each piece allow for choice of value for
subsequent moves. The skill, strategy, memory, and intuition
required to master revolution or surrogate chess is thus six-fold
and revolutionary.
This new method of play is made possible by the invention of a new
chess piece. This piece has many advantages. It is easy to package.
It can be manufactured cheaper than present pieces. This cost
reduction is apparent when all pieces on the board are simple, and
all pieces are identical. The pieces may be constructed from any
material, such as plastic or stone, or fabricated from
cardboard.
The six sides of the cube are marked with the six symbols for the
six pieces used in the medieval chess set. The symbols may be
standard, esthetic, or a simple symbol designating the method of
moving the piece.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved chess
piece.
Another object of the invention is to provide a chess piece that is
simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and simple and
efficient to use.
Another object of the invention is to provide improved chess
pieces.
With the above and other objects in view, the present invention
consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter
more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and
more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being
understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportions,
and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit
or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top view of a chessboard according to the invention,
showing the symbols representing the chess pieces in place on the
board.
FIG. 2 is a top view of the covering for the cubical chess
pieces.
FIG. 3 is a view of a chess piece having the symbols on the outside
thereof.
FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a chess piece in a box.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Now with more particular reference to the drawings, the chessboard
is indicated at 10 and the covering box for a chess piece is
indicated at 11. The chess piece itself is indicated at 20.
The chessboard 10 is of a conventional type and is shown having the
chess pieces of the two opponents arranged on the opposite sides of
the board. The chess pieces indicated at 20 are in the form of
cubes and may be made of wood, plastic, metal, or other suitable
materials. The covering for the chess pieces may be made from a
sheet of material such as sheet plastic or heavy paper. The
covering, as shown in FIG. 2, is cut in the form of a Latin cross.
The Latin cross has the ordinary transverse beam 12 and upright
member 21. The center square 15 as well as the bottom square 13 and
the intermediate square 14, the top square 16, the left side square
17 and the right side square 18 are all of equal area. The bottom
square will have a symbol of a bishop thereon. The bishop, however,
will be inverted. The intermediate square 14 will have a queen. The
center square 15 will have a rook, both of these being upright. The
side squares 17 and 18 will have a pawn and a king respectively
thereon, each inverted, and the top square 16 will have a knight or
horse thereon rotated to the left 90.degree. counterclockwise. When
the Latin cross is folded along the margins of the squares, it is
formed into the covering of a cube and the cube as indicated at 20
in FIG. 3, will have six sides, each of which is made by one of the
squares of the cross.
The orientation of the symbols as shown in FIG. 2 serves three
purposes: (1) the pieces when placed on the board have the next
lowest possible value piece facing the opponent, (2) the opposite
sides of each cube total seven when the value of the piece is
considered. The pawn is being considered as one, the king six,
opposite each other; the knight is two and the queen is five
opposite each other. This gives the player immediate knowledge of
the symbol on the bottom of the playing piece and is necessary for
playing the game according to the invention. (3) the most important
reason is to set a pattern for manufacture, that makes all pieces
identical from the start. The opponents' pieces are identical
except for color. Sixteen pieces are made of one color and sixteen
pieces of another color. Two sets of partners are required for a
four-player game and a total of four separate colors are required
and four sets of pieces.
The medieval or orthodox method of chess can be played by nesting
each of the chess pieces in small open-top boxes indicated at 30 in
FIG. 4 with the top square showing through the open top so that the
only visible symbol on the chess piece is the particular one for
that piece.
The regular pawns, are nested in the boxes with the pawn symbol
showing on top. When the chess piece is "promoted," the box is
removed and the pawn is promoted to a surrogate piece.
The nested pawns used in the surrogate game have five sides
hidden.
The Game
The pieces are started in the normal orthodox position for chess.
Outer pieces are rooks, next toward center are the knights, then
the bishops, and in the two center squares, the king and queen, as
in medieval chess. The piece is a cube nested in its individual box
with the open top having the face exposed that represents the piece
for that position. The other five faces are hidden by the box. The
standard chess game can now be played. All chess rules apply with
no change.
Surrogate chess is played when the boxes are removed from the
pieces in the rear or royal rank. Revolution is played with the
boxes removed from all pieces on the board. A piece with its box in
place and covering five faces of the cube is always played as in
the standard chess game and all the same rules apply that apply in
the regular chess game.
A piece with its box removed has all six sides exposed. The piece
is played with the rules applying to the uppermost face. A queen
moves with all privileges of a queen.
The change in the method of play can best be shown with the rook. A
rook placed in the center of the board and oriented in the same
position as at the start of the game, has a knight on the side
facing the opponent, a queen on the side facing the player, a king
to the right and a pawn to the left. The bishop is on the bottom
and cannot be considered in the next move of this piece.
A rook moves along ranks and files, in a linear direction, any
number of unoccupied spaces, and has four directions to move.
The knight, on his turn to move, has a move that consists of two
linear moves, two spaces in one of the four linear direcrions, plus
another space to the left or right of the first direction. It
therefore has two rotations per move. A knight placed in the center
of the board, and oriented as at the start of the game, has a pawn
on the side facing the opponent, a king on the side facing the
player, a rook on the left and a bishop on the right. A knight
moving one or two spaces toward the opponent is temporarily a king
and finally a bishop if the second direction is to the left or a
rook if the second direction is to the right.
The other type of move on the chess board is the diagonal move.
This is performed by turning the piece clockwise to align the flat
side of the cube in the diagonal direction. The move is made along
the diagonal in the same fashion as along the linear and the move
is completed with a further clockwise roation to align the flat
side of the cube with the flat side of the space. This is rest
position.
A bishop placed in the center of the board and oriented as at the
start of the game, has a knight on the side facing the opponent, a
queen on the side facing the player, a king on the left and a pawn
on the right. A diagonal move toward the right and toward the
opponent is made by rotating the bishop on its vertical axis,
45.degree. clockwise in the direction of the move. This brings the
knight face in line with the diagonal, and the bishop moves along
the diagonal and becomes a queen. The queen is further rotated 45
.degree. clockwise to rest position. The result of this move is a
queen with a king face facing the opponent, a pawn facing the
player, a rook on the left and the bishop on the right.
The king, queen, and pawn make linear moves similar to the rook and
diagonal moves similar to the bishop. A move ending in the far rank
and having a pawn uppermost is treated like a pawn being promoted,
and the piece is lifted and returned to the board with any other
face uppermost and with any orientation at the discretion of the
player making the move.
A movement of the king in any linear or diagonal direction results
in a piece of a value other than a king, and castling is not
possible. A checkmate occurs when all kings or king is in check and
no surrogate can be turned up to give an unchecked king. This
applies under all conditions such as a queen in a position to
simultaneously check three of an opponent's three kings. The queen
must be captured to remove the triple check or a fourth king turned
up to prevent checkmate.
A move that would place a player's own king in check is not
allowed. This applies to the standard rules but is mentioned here
because of the possibitlity of having other nonchecked kings on the
board.
Gambit and en passante apply to pawns in revolution or surrogate
chess.
The foregoing specification sets forth the invention in its
preferred practical forms but the structure shown is capable of
modification within a range of equivalents without departing from
the invention which it is to be understood is broadly novel as is
commensurate with the appended claims .
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