Patent Publication Number: US-2023140345-A1

Title: Chess set with intermeshing game pieces

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments are related to equipment for playing chess and more specifically to game pieces having shapes similar to standard Staunton chess pieces so that the rank of the piece is readily recognizable, configured to mesh into other game pieces for compact storage. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Some portable chess sets include very large pieces for use in outdoor settings. These chess sets may include chess pieces that are assembled from flat sections that interlock. This results in large play pieces that differ substantially from the look and feel of chess pieces provided in game sets for tabletop use, but rather provide something which may be described as large tokens representing the various pieces. Each playing piece may include two or more parts that must be assemble and disassembled. With 32 chess pieces this is time consuming and arduous. Scaling such equipment down to a size more convenient for tabletop use leads to many small pieces that may be hard to assemble and which may be easily broken or misplaced. 
     Other portable chess sets provide containers that hold the pieces for transport and provide a chess playing surface. Such chess sets may fail to provide a small compact package or to reduce the volume required to store the pieces. Because there are 32 chess pieces in a game set, separately storing a complete set either requires a lot of room resulting in a voluminous chess set, or a smaller set with tiny chess pieces. 
     Yet other chess sets use pieces not having the recognizable three-dimensional shape of chess pieces but rather are flat pieces or tokens or cones all having the same shape but with markings on them to denote the various ranks of pieces. Such pieces also fail to provide the look and feel of ordinary chess pieces. 
     SUMMARY 
     An example apparatus embodiment of a chess set includes a set of two or more chess pieces that have overall symmetrical shape, and having three dimensional distinctive shape features denoting the rank of the piece similar to the distinctive shape features denoting the ranks of corresponding piece in common Staunton style chess pieces, and at least two of the pieces are configured so that they can intermesh or combine with one another to result in a combined unit that can be stored in as little as half the space that would be required to store the two pieces if stored separately. The disclosed example embodiments of chess pieces include at least one of the following: 
     a chess piece whose shape denotes a knight chess piece by depicting in three dimensions the head and neck of a horse and having an opening near the base of the piece configured to accommodate insertion of the head of another chess piece that depicts in three dimensions the head and neck of a horse; 
     a chess piece whose shape denotes a rook chess piece by depicting a castle tower having radial symmetry around a vertical axis and having an opening at the top to an internal cavity configured to accommodate insertion of another chess piece such as a bishop; 
     a chess piece whose shape denotes a bishop chess piece having a radial symmetry around a vertical axis generally narrowing from the base to the top and whose shape is configured to fit into the opening at the top of, and the cavity within, another chess piece such as a rook; 
     a chess piece whose shape denotes a bishop chess piece having a radial symmetry around a vertical axis generally narrowing from the base to a level partway up its height and then flaring out wider to the base of a generally conical shape and whose overall shape is configured to fit into the opening at the top of, and the cavity within, another chess piece such as a rook; 
     a chess piece whose shape denotes a chess piece pawn having radial symmetry around a vertical axis, and a shape narrowing from the base up to a ball-shaped top and having an opening at the bottom to a cavity configured to accommodate insertion of another chess piece such as another pawn; 
     a chess piece whose shape denotes a chess piece pawn having radial symmetry around a vertical axis and having two or more vertical members rising from the base configured to accommodate meshing with an inverted chess piece having two or more members rising from its base, such as another pawn; 
     a chess piece whose shape denotes a chess piece king having radial symmetry around a vertical axis and having a shape whose diameter narrows from the base to a level partway up its height and then flares out above that level and comprising two or more vertical members rising from its base with separations between them and openings in the base of the piece corresponding to the separations between the vertical members and configured to accommodate insertion of vertical members of another chess piece, such as a queen; 
     a chess piece whose shape denotes a chess piece king having radial symmetry around a vertical axis and having a cross at the top and comprising two or more vertical members rising from its base with separations between them and openings in the base of the piece corresponding to the separations between the vertical members and configured to accommodate insertion of vertical members of another chess piece, such as a queen; and 
     a chess piece whose shape denotes a chess piece queen having radial symmetry around a vertical axis, and having a shape whose diameter narrows in from the base to a level partway up its height, and then flares out above that level, and comprising two or more vertical members rising from its base configured to fit into the openings in the base of another piece and the separations between the vertical members of that piece, such as a king. 
     Some embodiments of a chess set include a first chess piece having a base; a first chamfered column attached to the base; and a second chamfered column attached to the base with a channel intervening between the first chamfered column and the second chamfered column. The embodiment of a chess set further includes a second chess piece having a second base formed with a first aperture and a second aperture, the first aperture sized for admittance of the first chamfered column, and the second aperture sized for admittance of the second chamfered column; a central interior column attached to the second base, the central interior column positioned between the first aperture and the second aperture, and the central interior column sized to fit in between the first chamfered column and the second chamfered column; a first outer column attached to the second base and to the central interior column; and a second outer column attached to the second base and to the central interior column, the first outer column positioned to slidably engage in the channel; and a folding chess board. 
     An embodiment of a chess set optionally includes a third chess piece, the third chess piece including a third base; a third chess piece body attached to the third base; and a transverse member joined to the third chess piece body. The third chess piece body is formed with an aperture sized to receive the transverse member from another of the third chess piece. 
     An embodiment of a chess set optionally includes a fourth chess piece and a fifth chess piece. The fourth chess piece includes a fourth base and a fourth chess piece body attached to the fourth base. The fifth chess piece includes a fifth base and a fifth chess piece body attached to the fifth base. The fifth chess piece body is formed with a longitudinal void space extending from a top end toward the fifth base. The longitudinal void space is formed with an interior shaped to receive the body of the fourth chess piece. 
     An embodiment of a chess set optionally includes a sixth chess piece having a sixth base and a sixth chess piece body attached to the sixth base. The sixth chess piece body is formed with at least two longitudinal members attached to the base with spaces intervening between them and configured so that the longitudinal members fit into the spaces between the longitudinal members of another of the sixth chess piece when that piece is inverted. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a pictorial view of examples of chess pieces in accord with the disclosed embodiments, including from left to right a pawn, a knight, a rook, a bishop, a queen, and a king. 
         FIG.  2    is a pictorial view of the examples of chess pieces of  FIG.  1    with the chess pieces intermeshed for storage, including two pawns meshed with one another, the bishop meshed with the rook, the queen and the king meshed with one another, and two knights meshed with one another. 
         FIG.  3    is a top view of the example of the king of  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  4    is a side view of the example of the king of  FIGS.  1 - 3   . 
         FIG.  5    is a top view of the example of the queen of  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  6    is a side view of the example of the queen of  FIGS.  1 ,  2 , and  5   . 
         FIG.  7    is a top view of the example of the bishop of  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  8    is a side view of the example the bishop of  FIGS.  1 ,  2 , and  7   . 
         FIG.  9    is a top view of the example of the rook of  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  10    is a side view of the example of a rook of  FIGS.  1 ,  2 , and  9   . 
         FIG.  11    is a cross-sectional view A-A showing an aperture formed in the rook for receiving the bishop of the previous figures. A location and viewing direction for section A-A is marked with a section line A-A in  FIG.  9   . 
         FIG.  12    is a top view of the example of the knight from  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  13    is a side view of the example of the knight from  FIGS.  1 ,  2 , and  12   . 
         FIG.  14    is a view toward the nose end of the head on the example of the knight from the preceding figures. 
         FIG.  15    is a side view of two knights meshed with one another for compact storage. 
         FIG.  16    is a top view of the example of the pawn from  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  17    is a side view of the example of the pawn from  FIGS.  1 ,  2 , and  16   . 
         FIG.  18    is a view toward the top surface of an example of a folding chess board optionally included in some embodiments of a chess set, with the chess board fully unfolded to form a flat playing surface including eight rows and eight columns of squares of alternating light and dark colors. 
         FIG.  19    is a side view of the example of a folding chess board of  FIG.  18   . 
         FIG.  20    is a pictorial view of example of the folding chess board of  FIGS.  18 - 19   , showing the chess board in a partially-folded configuration. 
         FIG.  21    shows the folding chess board of  FIGS.  18 - 20    folded around an example of a game piece storage container for holding a complete chess set stored as the intermeshed chess pieces of  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  22    shows a top view of the storage container of  FIG.  21   , illustrating one of many possible alternative arrangements for storing the intermeshed chess pieces included in a complete set of game pieces for playing a game of chess. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     The disclosed example apparatus embodiments provide chess pieces that intermesh in a way that the volume needed to store the pieces is reduced to as little as half what would have been required if the pieces are stored separately, yet are full size, three-dimensional pieces with distinctive designs reflecting the recognizable shapes and contours of standard chess pieces, having the look and feel of ordinary chess pieces such as the weight and stability of their solid bases. 
     This is accomplished by having the major pieces—the king, queen, rook, bishop and knight—designed so that they can be intermeshed pairwise to save storage space. In addition, the pawns can be stacked or meshed together, again saving storage space. The pieces can then be stored in a compact storage container. The board is jointed and can wrap around the storage container, resulting in a compact portable set with full sized pieces having the form similar to standard chess pieces. 
     The disclosed embodiments of a chess set provides full size chess pieces with symmetrical shape and contour denoting the rank of the piece, and which mesh together pairwise for compact storage in a portable set. Along with the volume reduction achieved by the meshed pairs of chess pieces, there is optionally a full-size folding chess board unlike those in previously available chess sets. The board is jointed and can wrap around the storage container holding the intermeshed pieces. The folding chess board and the meshing pieces result in a very compact portable chess set that does not compromise on the size of the playing surface or the satisfactory size of the chess pieces. 
       FIG.  1    shows an example preferred embodiment of the Staunton-style chess pieces  200 , including a first chess piece corresponding to a queen  104 , a second chess piece corresponding to a king  102 , a third chess piece corresponding to a knight  110 , a fourth chess piece corresponding to a bishop  106 , a fifth chess piece corresponding to a rook  108 , and a sixth chess piece corresponding to a pawn  112 , together representing the different types of chess pieces included in a set of game pieces for playing a game of chess. Each of the chess pieces in an embodiment  100  of a chess set includes a base  114  at a bottom end  117 , a chess piece body  224  which may have a part referred to as a longitudinal member  226 , at least one column  120 , a top end  116 , and an optional magnet  118  in the base to hold the chess piece against a chess board having ferrous or magnetic components. At the start of a chess game, each chess piece may be positioned on a square on a chess board with the bottom end  117  of the base  114  in contact with the top surface of the chess board. 
     As suggested in  FIG.  2   , the chess pieces may be intermeshed with one another to save space. Intermeshed pieces may also be referred to as meshed pairs, combined units, and/or chess-piece-combinations. For example, the king  102  and queen  104  may be meshed with one another to form a first meshed pair  146 . Chamfered columns  156  extending upward from the base  166  of the queen pass through apertures  170  formed in a base  168  of the king and enter into channels  122  between outer columns  158  extending upward from the base of the king, with the base  166  of the queen positioned against the base  168  of the king to form the first meshed pair  146 . Each of the meshed pairs  152 ,  148 ,  146 , and  150  are designed to reduce the space required for storage of the meshed pair to less than 65% of the space that would have been required to store the pieces of the pair separately. 
     Continuing with the examples of meshed pairs in  FIG.  2   , parts of the bishop  106  extending from the bishop&#39;s base  114  may be placed inside an aperture formed in the rook  108  to form a second meshed pair  148 . To form the second meshed pair, the bishop is inverted relative to the rook and the top end  116  of the bishop inserted into an aperture formed in the top end  116  of the rook. Interior details of the rook will be described later with regard to  FIGS.  9 - 11   . 
     A third meshed pair  150  may be formed from two knights  110 . Each knight includes a structure representing a head and neck of a horse  208  with a nose end  130  projecting transversely from the top end  116  of an angle-faced column  164  attached to a base  114 . The angle-faced column  164  on each knight  110  is formed with an angled face  126  and a transverse aperture  144  near the base  114 . The third meshed pair  150  includes a first knight  174  and a second knight  176  inverted relative to the first knight. The nose end  130  of each knight is inserted into the transverse aperture  144  of the other member of the meshed pair until an angled face  126  on the first knight rests against the angled face  126  of the second knight. 
     Two pawns  112  may be meshed with one another to form a fourth meshed pair  152 . Each pawn includes two or more columns  120  extending away from a base  114 . A column  120  of a pawn may also be referred to as a vertical member  210  of the pawn. A segment of a spheroid  196  formed at the top end  116  of each column establishes the appearance of the ball-shaped upper end of a Staunton-styled pawn. To form the fourth meshed pair  152 , columns  120  on a pawn  112  are positioned in channels  122  between columns  120  on an inverted pawn  112 , with the base  114  of the first pawn and the base  114  of the second pawn at opposite ends of the meshed pair  152  and a top end  116  of each pawn adjacent the base of the adjacent pawn. 
     Pieces engaged with one another to reduce storage space may be referred to herein as meshed pieces or as intermeshed pieces. As suggested in the figures, each chess piece embodiment is formed as a single, integral part, with no assembly needed after initial manufacture and no readily detachable components. 
       FIGS.  3 - 15    present additional features of the chess pieces from the examples of  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   . The example of a king  102  in  FIG.  3    and  FIG.  4    includes at least two, and in the illustrated example, four outer columns  158  extending upward from a base  168 . An outer column  158  may also be referred to as a vertical member  212  of the king. The outer columns  158  are joined to a central interior column  132 . A cross  134  attached to the top end  116  of the central interior column  132  identifies the rank of the chess piece as a king. The profile shape of the outer columns and the cross are in accord with Staunton style for a king chess piece. Channels  122  formed by spaces between the outer columns  158  are sized to receive the chamfered columns  156  on the queen. Each channel  122  extends through the base  114  of the king at an aperture  170 . The example of a king is formed with radial symmetry around a vertical axis and includes a shape whose diameter narrows from the base of the king  168  to a level  218  partway up a height  216  of the king and then flares out above the level  218 . 
     The example of a queen  104  in  FIG.  5    and  FIG.  6    includes at least two, and in the illustrated example, four chamfered columns  156  extending upward from a base  166 . The chamfered columns together form a chess piece body  224  having a diameter  220  near the base of the queen. The diameter  220  narrows from the base of the queen to a level  222  partway up the height of the queen. A chamfered column  156  may also be referred to as a vertical member  214  of the queen. The chamfered columns  156  are separated from one another by channels  122  and a central aperture  142 . The top ends of the chamfered columns  156  narrow to an apex and flare outward to present the appearance of the crown of the queen chess piece in accord with Staunton style. The channels and central aperture extend from the top side of the base  166  to the top end  116 . Optional pads  140  extending upward from a top side of the base  166  between adjacent chamfered columns  156  on the queen are positioned to engage in corresponding void spaces formed between feet  136  extending downward from a bottom side of the base  168  of the king  102 . As suggested in the example of  FIG.  2   , the top ends of the chamfered columns  156  on the queen may be passed through the apertures  170  in the base  168  of the king to form the first meshed pair of game pieces  146 . 
       FIGS.  2 ,  4 , and  6    illustrate an example of space savings achieved by the disclosed embodiments of chess pieces. As previously described, each of the meshed pairs  152 ,  148 ,  146 , and  150  are configured to reduce the space required for storage of a meshed pair to less than 65% of the space needed to store the members of the pair separated from one another. An example of the height  216  of a king  102  and an example of the thickness  238  of a base  114  of a chess piece are shown in  FIG.  4   . An example of the height  234  of a queen  104  is shown in  FIG.  6   , and an example of the height  236  of a meshed pair is shown in  FIG.  2   . The height  236  of the meshed pair corresponds to the height  216  of the king plus the thickness of the base of the meshed chess piece, i.e., the thickness  238  of the base of the queen. The height  236  of the meshed pair is less than or equal to 65% of the sum of the height  216  of the king and height  234  of the queen, a reduction in storage space that applies to all the meshed pairs disclosed herein. To a first approximation, a storage space needed for an individual chess piece may be estimated as an area of the bottom end of the base of the piece, ignoring the areas of any apertures through the base, multiplied by a height of the piece. The space required to store a meshed pair is therefore no more than 65% of the summed spaces for storing the individual pieces forming the meshed pair. 
     As shown in the examples of  FIG.  7    and  FIG.  8   , the bishop  106  from the examples of  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2    is formed with a tapered upper end  198  joined to a column  162 . The column  162  is joined to a base  114 . A transverse slot  172  formed in the tapered upper end  198  identifies the rank of the chess piece as a bishop in accord with Staunton style. 
     Some details of the example rook  108  from  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2    are shown in  FIGS.  9 - 11   . A hollow column  160  extends upwards from a base  114 . The top end  116  of the hollow column  160  is crenellated in accord with Staunton style for a rook, representing a castle tower  232 . A tapered aperture  124  extends from the top end  116  toward the base  114 . The tapered aperture is shaped to receive the upper parts of a bishop  106  with a sliding fit. 
       FIGS.  9 - 10    further illustrate examples of a vertical axis  230  passing through a center  228  of the circular bottom face of the base  114 . All of the example chess pieces of  FIG.  1    have a vertical axis  230  passing through the center  228  of the base of each piece as shown in the examples of  FIGS.  9 - 10   . Each of the example chess pieces of  FIG.  1    except the knight  110  possess radial symmetry about the vertical axis  230 , that is, each chess piece includes elements repeated at equal angular intervals around the vertical axis of the piece. 
     Some details of the example knight  110  from  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2    are shown in  FIGS.  12 - 14   . As in a traditional Staunton chess set the knight  110  is depicted by structures representing the neck and head of a horse. The example knight  110  is formed with an angle-faced column  164  extending upward from a base  114 . The angle-faced column  164  is formed with an angled face  126  extending from near the base to the top end  116  of the knight. A transverse projection  128  extends outward from the angled face  126  at the top end and terminates in a nose end  130 , representing the head of a horse in accord with Staunton style. A transverse aperture  144  passing through the angle-faced column  164  is shaped to receive the transverse projection  128  of another knight with a sliding fit. 
       FIG.  15    shows a side view of the third meshed pair of game pieces from  FIG.  2   . A first knight  174  is shown with its base  114  facing downward. A second knight  176  is shown with its base  114  at the top of the meshed pair. The head  128  and the nose end  130  of the first knight  174  is shown in position in the transverse aperture  144  of the second knight  176 , and the head and nose end of the second knight  176  is shown in position in the transverse aperture  144  of the first knight  174 . The angled face  126  of the first knight is in contact with the angled face  126  of the second knight in the illustrated example. 
     Some details of the example pawn  112  from  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2    are shown in  FIGS.  16 - 17   . The example of a pawn  112  includes at least two, and in the illustrated example, four columns  120  extending upward from the base  114 . Each column has attached at its upper end  116  a sector of a spheroid  196 . The columns are separated from one another by intervening channels  122 . 
       FIGS.  18 - 22    show examples of an optional folding chess board  178  configured to enclose a game piece storage container  186  included with some embodiments of a chess set  100 . The top surface  190  of the folding chess board is marked with eight rows and eight columns of light-colored squares  206  and dark-colored squares  206  in an alternating pattern.  FIG.  18    and  FIG.  19    show an example of the folding chess board in a fully-unfolded configuration  194  with an approximately planar top surface  190 . As suggested in  FIG.  18    and  FIG.  19   , the folding chess board includes a first 1-square-wide panel  182  rotatably connected to a first 2-square-wide panel  184  along a first fold line  180 . A second 1-square-wide panel  182  is rotatably connected to the first 2-square-wide panel  184  along a second fold line  180  on a side opposite the first fold line. A second 2-square-wide panel  184  is rotatably connected to the second 1-square-wide panel along a third fold line  180  on a side opposite the second fold line. A third 2-square-wide panel  184  is rotatably connected to the second 2-square-wide panel along a fourth fold line  180  on a side opposite the third fold line. The two 1-square-wide panels  182  and the three 2-square-wide panels  184  may be rotatably connected to one another by a flexible backing sheet  188  or by hinges. 
     An optional, removable edge stiffener  202  formed as a C- or U-shaped extrusion made from a rigid material may be attached to an edge of the chess board to hold the folding board flat. Alternatively, magnets  204  may be attached along the edges of the chess board to hold the chess board flat. Examples of magnets  204  are shown in  FIG.  21   . 
       FIG.  20    shows an example folded configuration  192  of the folding chess board  178 , with the panels rotated relative to one another along the four fold lines  180  and the top surface  190  indicated by the pattern of squares  206 .  FIG.  21    shows another example folded configuration  192  with the folding chess board enclosing a game piece storage container  186 , with the outer edges of the game piece storage container in contact with the bottom side of the folding chess board. The hollow structure formed by the folding chess board may be referred to as a hollow open ended, rectangular hexahedron. As suggested in the example of  FIG.  21   , the folded chess board forms a storage compartment to store the meshed pairs of chess pieces inside this hollow hexahedron, resulting in the compact portable chess set. 
       FIG.  22    shows an example of a complete set of chess pieces  154  represented by two of the first meshed pair  146  (king  102  and queen  104 ), four of the second meshed pair  148  (rook  108  and bishop  106 ), two of the third meshed pair  150  (knight  110  and knight  110 ), and eight of the fourth meshed pair  152  (pawn  112  and pawn  112 ). The positioning of meshed pairs in  FIG.  22    is one of many acceptable alternative arrangements. As suggested in  FIG.  22   , a complete chess set  154  with individual pieces formed in accord with Staunton style  200  and having sizes in accord with rules for tournament play may be securely stored in a volume enclosed by the chess board upon which the pieces will be set for game play. 
     The example disclosed embodiments include a set of two or more chess pieces that have the recognizable 3-dimensional shape and silhouette and approximately the same heft as standard Staunton chess pieces of the same rank, height and base diameter, and designed such that at least two of the pieces are configured so that they can intermesh or combine with one another to result in a combined unit that can be stored in approximately half the space that would be required to store the two pieces if stored separately, or approximately half the space required to store the corresponding standard Staunton chess pieces of the same rank, height and base diameter. 
     All of the pieces except the knight, optionally have radial symmetry around a vertical axis through the center of the piece. At least two of the pieces each have the rank of one of the group of pieces consisting of the major pieces—that is, the king, queen, bishop, knight and rook. In some embodiments, an example piece A of rank A includes a central shaft with radiating arms that have an outer contour that is similar to the contour of a standard chess piece of rank A so piece A is readily recognized as having rank A, and the other, piece B of rank B, has a central hole and radiating arms that have an outer contour that is similar to the contour of a standard chess piece of rank B so piece B is readily recognized as having rank B, wherein the central shaft and radiating arms of piece A mesh into the central hole and radiating arms of piece B, to result in a combined unit that can be stored in approximately half the space that would be required to store the two pieces if stored separately, or approximately half the space required to store the corresponding standard Staunton chess pieces of the same rank, height and base diameter. 
     Piece A may be the king and piece B may the queen. Alternately, piece A is the queen and piece B is the king. The two pieces A and B optionally intermesh such that the tops of the two pieces are adjacent in the combined unit, and the bottoms of the two pieces are adjacent in the combined unit. 
     For some meshed example pieces, one piece may be inverted with respect to the other in the combined unit, whereby the top of each piece is adjacent to the bottom of the other piece in the combined unit. 
     For some meshed example pieces, for example a piece C has a solid substantially conical shape, and a piece D has a central void space with an aperture at the top designed to receive piece C, to result in a combined unit that can be stored in approximately half the space that would be required to store the two pieces if stored separately, or approximately half the space required to store the corresponding standard Staunton chess pieces of the same rank, height and base diameter. In some example embodiments, piece C is a bishop and the piece D is a rook. 
     For some example embodiments, each of the major pieces (king, queen, bishop, knight, rook) is designed so that it each can be meshed with another of the major pieces, to result in combined units that can be stored in approximately half the space that would be required to store the two pieces if stored separately, or approximately half the space required to store the corresponding standard Staunton chess pieces of the same rank, height and base diameter. 
     In an embodiment including a sufficient number of chess pieces to play a game of chess according to commonly accepted rules of the game, eight of the pieces represent pawns that can be intermeshed with one another into a combined unit that can be stored in approximately half the space required by the eight pawns if stored separately or approximately half the space required to store eight standard Staunton chess pawns of the same height and diameter. 
     Two of the pieces that can be meshed together may both have the same rank representing the same standard Staunton chess piece and are designed such that they can be intermeshed when one can piece is inverted with respect to the other to result in a combined unit that can be stored in approximately half the space that would be required to store the two pieces if stored separately, or approximately half the space required to store the corresponding standard Staunton chess pieces of the same rank, height and base diameter. 
     The two pieces having the same rank that can be meshed together when one inverted with respect to the other may each represent the knight in some embodiments. 
     An embodiment optionally includes a chess piece container for storage of meshed chess pieces such that the container requires approximately half the space to store the eight major chess pieces for one player than would be required to store the eight major pieces for one player separately. The chess container may optionally provide more than one compartment. A folding chess board optionally provides a removable outer surface of the chess piece container. 
     The folding chess board is optionally configured to fold into the shape of an open-ended rectangular hexahedron. 
     The chess board may be used for playing a game other than chess. 
     The optional chess board may be flexibly hinged in at least three locations to permit the board to fold into an open-ended rectangular hexahedron. In some example embodiments, the optional chess board is flexibly hinged between rows one and two, between rows four and five, and between rows seven and eight of the chess board to permit it to fold into an open-ended rectangular hexahedron. Alternatively, the chess board may be flexibly hinged between rows two and three, between rows four and five, between rows five and six, and between rows seven and eight, of the chess board to permit it to fold into an open-ended rectangular hexahedron. 
     An example method embodiment for storing a set of chess pieces includes forming a first meshed pair by inserting a chamfered column of a queen through an aperture in a base of a king and moving a base of the queen into contact with the base of the king; forming a second meshed pair by inverting a bishop relative to a rook, inserting a tapered end of the bishop into an aperture formed in a top end of the rook, and moving a base of the bishop into contact with the top end of the rook; forming a third meshed pair by inverting a first knight relative to a second knight and sliding a transverse projection of the first knight into a transverse channel formed near a base of the second knight; and forming a fourth meshed pair by inverting a first pawn relative to a second pawn and inserting a column having an end shaped as a spheroidal segment from the first pawn into a channel between two adjacent columns of the second pawn.