Patent landscapes › Sports & games
Is a chess board patented?
Short answer: specific designs of a chess board have been patented many times, but "a chess board" as a general idea is not what is protected. What matters is the exact combination of features in your version.
What our index shows
- 273 US and WO patent publications since 2000 have a title matching “chess” or a close variant (our index of 9.7 million patent families; one publication per family).
- Among the 184 best keyword matches we examined, 59 were published in 2020 or later, and the earliest was published in 2000.
- Most frequent assignees in those matches: TENCENT TECH SHENZHEN CO LTD (7), SPURGEON RICHARD M (4), Weng yan (3), BEIJING WANHAO TIANJI COMM CO LTD (3).
- Most common patent classes (CPC subclasses): A63F (178), G09B (8), G07F (5), G06F (5).
Counts come from keyword matching on titles and abstracts, so they are indicative, not a legal count. Some matches are different products that share a word.
14 real patent publications related to a chess board
- Chess piece enhancement method and apparatus for turn-based board game, device, and storage medium WO-2026040733-A1 2026 · TENCENT TECH SHENZHEN CO LTD
A chess piece enhancement method and apparatus for a turn-based chess game, a device, and a storage medium, relating to the technical field of computers. The method comprises: displaying a plurality of chess pieces and an enhancem…
View on Google Patents - Smart chess board system and method with situationally conscious smart chess pieces US-2025367539-A1 2025 · AHUJA PULKIT
A chess board game apparatus (100) and system (200) are disclosed that provides chess pieces that are situationally aware and may change their colours during the game based on certain triggers, manual interventions, player selecti…
View on Google Patents - Chess game kit with modified board and pieces and methods of play WO-2024216388-A1 2024 · PARNEY MARCUS
A chess game kit comprises a board having a cross-shaped play area that includes four peripheral outer edges and is divided into a plurality of squares. Each peripheral outer edge comprises an uneven number of squares. The plurali…
View on Google Patents - Board game/chess game US-11161032-B2 2021 · ACTIVE OWNERSHIP LP
Board game (1) with a board (2) having at least one playing surface (3) comprising multiple playing fields (4) and with playing pieces (5) and at least one holding device (6) for holding a playing piece (5) releasably attached to …
View on Google Patents - Portable chess set that preserves positions of chess pieces during a pause in game play to permit transportation and continuation of a chess game US-2021170264-A1 2021 · KING RICHARD ALLEN
A portable chess set able to preserve positions of chess pieces on a chess board during an interruption of game play, thereby permitting transportation of the chess set and then resuming game play. The chess set includes: a board …
View on Google Patents - Universal, unified chess board and pictorial, sculptural chess pieces, for korean, chinese, and western chess games US-2019176022-A1 2019 · LEE SANG C
The Game is designed in the metaphor of the High-Walled Medieval City of Citadel, and Casbah, that is still thriving in Morocco. The Medieval City hardly changed. The vibrant ancient culture, is especially evident in the vast indo…
View on Google Patents - Chess-Like Board Game US-2017157501-A1 2017 · CODI JOSEPH
A chess-like board game with a commercial name of Starship Chess provides a one-on-one tactical space combat game, like the game of chess between two versatile playing pieces. The game is played by two players and each player has …
View on Google Patents - Board game, based on chess, using a radial board US-2009289416-A1 2009 · ELSTUB FRANK
The present invention provides a gameboard apparatus, a gameboard method of play, and a method of gamepiece movement, for two players. The gameboard consists of one hundred and twenty spaces, distributed in a radial pattern, and h…
View on Google Patents - Multiplayer board game and method of play that utilizes chess pieces US-2005046110-A1 2005
A board game assembly and its associated method of play. The board game assembly contains a game board that is divided into different areas. Playing spaces are on the game board and extend throughout the various areas. Each player…
View on Google Patents - 3-person chess board game with triangular-shaped game board US-6357748-B1 2002
A 3-person chess board game for providing a more challenging chess game having three players rather than the traditional two players. The 3-person chess board game includes a triangular-shaped game board having a plurality of tria…
View on Google Patents - Game set, including board and chessmen and related methods and products US-6336632-B1 2002
The present invention relates generally to a new game, termed “Next Chess” (and related products and methods) Next Chess is played on a board similar to a conventional chess board, but instead being 10 files wide and 8 ranks deep.…
View on Google Patents - Method and game set for playing a chess-like board game US-6460853-B1 2002
A method of playing a chess-like board game including traditional chess pieces comprising kings, queens, bishops, knights, rooks and pawns, in which pieces can capture one another as in traditional chess, and in which the traditio…
View on Google Patents - Simple chess-type board game for two, three, and four players US-6196545-B1 2001
A board game apparatus and method of playing a game with the apparatus by two, three, or four players is provided. The board game apparatus consists of a game board and four distinguishable playing sets, one for each player. The g…
View on Google Patents - Spacial game board with spacial chess and spacial checkers US-6279907-B1 2001
The Spacial Game Board is a contiguous, multi-level (variable quantity and variably locatable in some cases) game board of squares with the quantity of simultaneous players determined by the quantity of squares being played on (2 …
View on Google Patents
What this means for your idea
Because patents cover specific combinations of features, the useful question is not “has a chess board been patented?” but “has my combination of features been described before?” Sports equipment patents tend to cover the grip, impact absorption, training feedback, and how gear is adjusted.
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Guides that help with this
First-look landscape. Not exhaustive. Not legal advice. This page lists keyword-matched publications from a limited database; it does not say whether any product is or isn't covered by a patent, whether a patent is still in force, or whether your idea is patentable. Consult a registered patent attorney or agent.