Chess set with visual means for keeping a running score

Claim 1

In a chess set, the improvement comprising visual means for keeping a running score in a chess game, said means including chess pieces having an engageable portion and a body portion, said engageable portion including one end of a piece and having an engageable surface whose shape and size are the same from piece to piece, said body portion being of variable height from piece to piece, an elongated member having a scale of unit values marked thereon the unit of which is equal to the body portion height of a pawn, said member receiving on each side thereof captured pieces in stacked form with the pieces on one side being distinguishable from those on the other side, a support adjacent the bottom of the member having engageable means on either side of the member, the first captured piece of one side in a chess game being engageable in one of said engageable means so that a plane passing through said end of said engageable portion of the piece is at a level opposite said scale to permit a reading of the scale to be made, said first pIece thus having its engageable portion exposed for engagement by another captured piece, thereby permitting another scale reading to be made, and each additional captured piece of the same side being added in engaging relation to a previously captured piece in the manner described to provide additional scale readings, each stacked piece having a height extending from the said end of the engageable portion thereof to the end of the engageable portion of the next engaging piece below the same which height is directly proportional to the point value of the piece in accordance with the following point value - body portion height relationship: the point value of a pawn being one and the body portion height thereof being a unit distance, the point value of the queen, rook, bishop, and knight being a multiple of that of a pawn in accordance with any conventional point value system and the body portion heights of said queen, rook, bishop, and knight also being multiples of the pawn body portion height, and said last-mentioned multiples being the same as said first multiple, and said scale readings providing a running score of either captured pieces or on-board pieces as said chess game proceeds.