A synthesis of traditional woodcraft and silent robotics, Phantom reimagines the chessboard as a self‑playing heirloom. Phantom is the world’s first robotic chessboard crafted from solid wood. A masterful blend of engineering, design, and woodwork has re‑engineered one of the oldest strategic objects: the chessboard. Phantom Chess features a hidden, silent drive system that allows pieces to move autonomously, while its exterior remains pure walnut and maple, eliminating the visible motors and toy‑like aesthetic that have defined automated chess until now. Drawing on precision sensor grids and ultra‑quiet linear actuators, Phantom turns the board itself into an intelligent interface, creating an entirely new category of connected chess experience.

where tradition meets innovation | all images courtesy of Phantom Chessboard

Phantom chessboard introduces patented layered architecture

Unlike conventional electronic boards, Phantom Chessboard uses a patented layered architecture that conceals all technology beneath a veneer of natural wood. The playing surface is a matrix of magnetic sensors that detect piece movement, while an array of sub‑18dB linear actuators provides autonomous motion with no audible mechanical noise. The system requires only a single Bluetooth‑pairing step, after which the board operates as a silent physical terminal for digital chess.

In addition to its mechanical innovation, Phantom integrates seamlessly with the digital chess ecosystem. Through its companion app, the board syncs in real time with Lichess and Chess.com, allowing online matches to be played out physically move‑for‑move. It also hosts adaptive AI opponents, from the tactical precision of Stockfish to the human‑like intuition of the Maia neural network, and features a Sculpture Mode that autonomously replays historic games or personal analyses. Four pending patents cover the sensor‑actuator array, the silent drive mechanism, the magnetic piece‑recognition system, and the software architecture that ties physical play to digital platforms.

a natural wood chessboard where pieces glide autonomously, powered by a completely hidden mechanism

By dissolving the boundary between the tangible tradition of wood and the limitless potential of connected play, Phantom does not replace the chessboard; it completes it. The first production units are shipping now, marking the first time a robotic chess system has been conceived not as a gadget, but as a crafted object meant to last generations.

crafted from solid American Dark Walnut and Maple, each board is a unique piece of natural craftsmanship

Phantom is the result of a philosophy that respects materiality while embracing silent technology

in sculpture mode, the board autonomously replays historic games or personal analyses as a kinetic sculpture

the board syncs in real time with Lichess and Chess.com, allowing online matches to be played out physically

the CNC‑milled pieces come in tournament dimensions, designed for balance and tactile satisfaction

a masterful blend of engineering, design, and woodwork has re‑engineered the chessboard

hidden architecture introduces a magnetic sensor grid and silent linear actuators beneath the wooden surface

project info:

name: Phantom Chess | @phantom_chess
designer: Eduardo Cano, Osmar Martinez

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post crafted in solid walnut and maple, phantom is the world’s first robotic chessboard appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

NGO Cuibono designs a sustainable, 3D printed chess set inspired by the stories of the displaced in Kharkiv, Ukraine, amidst the Russian invasion. Kindachess represents the divided nation under the war game — chess — by segmenting the board. However, when the game is finished and when the board is stacked to be stored the lines form the Ukrainian flag, representing unity and the action of returning to home. Led by designer Liam Hwang, the production was carried out with sustainable additive manufacturing techniques, namely FDM 3D printing with naturally degradable bioplastics.

all images courtesy of Cuibono

3d printed with degradable bioplastics by cuibono

Cuibono is the world’s first design-driven NGO, established to provide aid to marginalized regions damaged by geopolitical conflicts such as war. The organization’s mission is achieved through the sale of sustainably made products that authentically represent the narratives of these regions. Aiming to break the boundary between commercial products and activism, the team harnesses design’s power to serve all, particularly those most in need. The NGO’s first design, Kindachess, was inspired by the narratives of the current Russian invasion in Ukraine. With a commitment to strong design ethics, stakeholders with direct access to the regions validated each design process to ensure it authentically represents the locals’ story.

designed by Cuibono and Liam Hwang

a sustainable, 3D printed chess

Kindachess represents the divided nation of Ukraine under the war game, chess

produced with FDM 3D printing with naturally degradable bioplastics

when the board is stacked the lines form the Ukrainian flag, representing unity and the action of returning to home

Cuibono is the world’s first design-driven NGO

compact and stackable

project info:

name: Kindachess
designer: Cuibono

lead designer: Liam Hwang

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom

The post NGO cuibono 3D prints chess set inspired by those displaced by war in ukraine appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

all images courtesy shapeways 

this miniature chess board is available for purchase or printing at shapeways. the set comes complete with 40 centimeter size pieces, costing a mere 11-13 USD for endless fun. their loyalty is denoted by design differences and not color, all part of the genius inventiveness of kiriakos christodoulou—aka innovo. you might ask, why not play chess on your phone? well as a rebuttal,  you’ve been staring at a screen punching numbers all day; the blue glow of your phone is the last thing you need, and besides, maybe you can make a new friend this way — maybe even a new chess nemesis, that’ll be sure kill your boredom. 

The post in case of emergency boredom, take this tiny 3D printed chess board in your wallet appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

observing how milan has evolved in the past five years, from a very low skyline to one that now has skyscrapers that silhouette in the central part of the city, designer david chiesa has created a 3D-printed chess set that instead of using the normal figurines, uses the new and historical buildings that make up the city of milan. the idea that these modern structures can live side by side, not only in the physical reality but also in a miniature world motivated the designer to create this set.

david chiesa shows an admiration for both the old and new landmarks of milan

the exploration of these new landmarks combined with an admiration to the old ones led david chiesa to produce six different chess pieces that encompass skyscrapers, towers, palaces and monuments. while being in use during a chess game, their constant movement offers and illusion of an urban skyline that is not fixed, but continually evolving and changing in a horizontal surface.

from left to right: unicredit tower, diamon tower, velasca tower, castello sforzesco, duomo, arco della pace

the sets are available in either the 6-piece micro version or the full 32-piece and can be found online here. chiesa has plans to expand the reach of his milanese skyline saying that, ‘I’m planning to distribute the chess board here in milan for the six months of EXPO2015 in shops, museums, and at EXPO gates and so on. this project is the first one of a family of three different projects that will also focus on buildings in other parts of italy as well as around the world.’

the game references the milanese skyline, one that is constantly changing

the sets are available in either the 6-piece micro version or the full 32-piece version

chiesa has plans to expand the reach of his 3D-printed milanese skyline chess set

you can buy the product or download the 3D models and print it yourself

to download the models go here

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom

The post david chiesa references milanese skyline to create 3D-printed chess set appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

a match for those passionate about both chess and architecture, the skyline chess set recreates the london cityscape over the checkered black and white plane of the beloved, ever-popular board game. designers ian flood and chris prosser have translated traditional set pieces into prominent london landmarks, drawing from both the symbolic value of the built form as well as their role on the chess board. the result is a monochromatic set of 3D printed battling buildings– pawns become the quintessential london abode, a humble terraced house; the bishops become the gherkin (50 st. mary axe); knights are the all-seeing london eye; the rooks manifest as the iconic big ben; the queen is appropriately the most dominant building on the london skyline, renzo piano’s shard ; finally, the might and presence of the king take on the form of canary wharf. while the skyline chess set is still in prototype phase, a kickstarter campaign has been launched to bring the game to the market and offers a full set starting at £75 and a cast metal version starting at £350. the long-term vision is to market iterations of the set in weighted acrylic and cast metal as well as create versions of game as other major cities:

we don’t want to stop at london…..we have visions of global domination! why not play your home city against that of your friends or family; london vs. paris, new york vs. rome, dubai vs. shanghai.

the full set would come complete with a laser-cut box for the scaled-down buildings-turned-gamepieces

pawns as the humble terrace house

rooks become the big ben

bishops are miniaturized versions of the gherkin

knights become the london eye

(left): the queen is renzo piano’s shard
(right): the king is manifested as canary wharf

a drawings articulates the scale shift and building information for each piece

The post skyline chess set brings london to world’s most popular game appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

8×8 is a collection of 64 alternate chess boards designed by jim sutherland (creative director at hat-trick design) all use 32 white and 32 black squares. jim has published a small book and started a tumblr of the project which he will add to over time: there are 1,832,624,140,942,590,534 possible combinations.

you might also want to check out jim’s typographic chess set or read our interview with him.

4 of the physical boards produced so far

8×8 book

The post 8×8: alternate chess boards by jim sutherland appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

hat-trick have designed a typographic chess set based on chess notation, K for king etc.
the forms are based on the typeface champion (lightweight) by hoefler frere jones.

the limited edition of 50 sets are laser cut from 25mm acrylic. the king is 50mm tall, the pawn is 30mm.
the board is made from two 2mm pieces of greyboard, and foiled in black.
the whole set comes in a foam tray with a greyboard sleeve.

typographic chess set by hat-trick design


jim sutherland of hat-trick told us more about the set:

‘the original idea started on the same holiday that I started the typographic playing cards, in 2007.
it’s been a long period of gestation and production testing.’

‘it was a really tricky production in order to get the fine detail and the counters sharp etc,
plus making sure everything stood up properly for example the Q and P had to be redrawn
for stability and the ‘Kt’ ligature for knight was redrawn.’

‘we added a couple of lovely quotes which I added to the info sheet in the packaging,
which includes information about the moves and chess notation.
there is also a small set of postcards, showing how each piece moves.’

‘chess is the most elaborate waste of human intelligence outside of an advertising agency.
raymond chandler

I did a lot of research into chess art, graphics and products,
so I’ve started a small tumblr site about the things I’ve found,
which I’m adding to when I get time.’
– jim sutherland

typographic chess set by hat-trick design


typographic chess set by hat-trick design

typographic chess set by hat-trick design

typographic chess set by hat-trick design

typographic chess set box by hat-trick design

guide to the pieces

chess explained through typography

jim sutherland’s sketch book

The post hat trick design: typographic chess set appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

UK designer peter marigold shows some of his most recent works at two different shows in celebration of london design week 2010. exhibiting at the brompton design district as a part of a collective show entitled, ‘objects with a void‘ is a series of clay vessels which range in dimension from thimble-size to massive wellington boots. the malleable material has been forced into a gradually enlarged cavity in wood, resulting in the top of the vessels having a texture of extruded wood. other artists showing at the exhibition are max lamb, hiroko shiratori, and study o portable.

marigold’s chess set at ‘projectory’

at the second installment of phillips de pury‘s pop-up program in saatchi gallery, ‘projectory‘, marigold shows a wooden chess set table. each individual piece has been cut from a single tree branch then minimally chiseled away to provide distinguishable characteristics. ‘projectory’, which aims to show important movements in contemporary design from both studio and industrial perspectives, features new projects from nendo, richard hutton, and oskar zieta.

(left) overall table view
(right) checker detail

The post peter marigold presents extruded vessels + wood chess set appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

american architect, design consultant and competitive chess player brent blake has designed
an ‘electric chess set’ that uses plug bases, sockets, bulbs and ceramic elements as its main
components. the choice of using a mirrored plexi glass board surface and white laminate
base was an aesthetic decision to enhance the sculptural aspects of this functional set.

transparent, colored and clear bulbs become the typical chess pieces. instead of shape
and form, color is used to distinguish the pieces from each other and serves as reminder
to users of their roles.

brent blake with his electric chess set design

when pieces are captured they are placed in the side sockets which are not powered,
thus, implying the message ‘lights out for those pieces’. the bulbs have low wattage
(7w pawns and 11w for the rest) making it not too hot to the touch for users.
the set has a dimmer to control the brightness of the bulbs.

the electric chess set will be showcased during ‘big deal art show party’ at
moses lake museum & art center in moses lake, washington on august 21st, 2010

The post brent blake: electric chess set appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

‘the art of chess’ is an exhibition of seven chess sets created by a group of contemporary
artist including tracey emin, tom friedman, damien hirst, barbara kruger, yayoi kusama,
alastair mackie and rachel whiteread. each artist infused their own interpretation of the board
game in real dimensions.

the exhibition is set to open on the 49th edition of milan furniture fair on april 14th
at project b gallery, in milan. this event which is part of the fuori salone will be on display
until the may 14th.

‘modern chess set’, detail of chess pieces

‘modern chess set’, detail of chess pieces

‘untitled’, barbara kruger 2006

‘untitled’, detail of chess pieces

‘pumpkin chess’, yayoi kusama

‘untitled’, tom friedman 2005

detail of chess pieces

case housing chess pieces

‘amorphous organic’, alastair mackie 2008

‘amorphous organic’ detail of chess pieces

mental escapology, damien hirst 2003

‘chess set’, tracey emin 2008

The post the art of chess appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.