US3843132A

US3843132A - Board game move recording system

Info

Publication number: US3843132A
Application number: US00352566A
Authority: US
Inventors: D Ferguson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-04-19
Filing date: 1973-04-19
Publication date: 1974-10-22
Anticipated expiration: 1991-10-22

Abstract

Apparatus for automatically recording moves in board games, such as chess, in which sensors under the board are actuated by magnetic fields emanating from the chessmen, and produce electrical signals indicating removal or replacement activity of the chessmen, together with signals identifying squares or playing positions at which the activity occurs. Successive signals indicating removal, replacement, and location are correlated by logical circuit elements which derive therefrom further signals, indicative of simple moves, captures, castling moves, and captures en passant, and these latter signals are fed to a printer which records the moves of the game for future reference and analysis.

Description

United States Patent Ferguson Oct. 22, 1974 l l BOARD GAME MOVE RECORDING SYSTEM Primary Examiner-Paul E. Shapiro [76] Inventor: David E. Ferguson, 1249 Tigertail fi g g aggf or Flrm Fulwlder" Patton Rleber Rd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90049 {22] Filed: Apr. 19, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 352,566 Apparatus for automatically recording moves in board games, such as chess, in which sensors under the board are actuated by magnetic fields emanating from [52] gi gg j g g i $2295 v the chessmen, and produce electrical signals indicat- 1 Int Cl 1 4 ing removal or replacement activity of the chessmen, o I I v s s I s I I s s I I lb poheld of Search g k g sitions at which the activity occurs. Successive signals indicating removal, replacement, and location are cor- 56 R f Ct d related by logical circuit elements which derive therel e erences I e from further signals, indicative of simple moves, capv UNITED STATES PATENTS tures, castling moves, and captures en passant, and 1434066 H1948 Fey t. 273/136 A these latter signals are fed to a printer which records $592,897 4/1952 Heinoo 346/33 R the move of the game for future reference and analy- 3.654.392 4/1972 Beinhocker et a1 273/136 A 3 683363 3/l972 Khlcbutin 273/136 A X mm 9/|973 15 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Khlebutin 273/l36 A X mmnnumze mm 3.843; 132

saw no; a

1 BOARD GAME MOVE RECORDING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION must usually be kept of all games, and many chess players beyond the novice stage like to record at least some of their games for subsequentanalysis. Manual recording of the moves is, however, often distracting to players and spectators alike, and is particularly prone to human errors in the recording process.

Automatic move recording systems have, in the past, employed fairly elaborate mechanical linkages between the chess board and a recording device, and generally require. that the chessmen include pins of some kind on their lower ends, which must be inserted in holes in the chess board in order to actuate the mechanical linkages under the board. Various electronic devices have been used for the display of chess moves on a demonstration board or screen, and for the transmission of moves to a remotelocation, but these-devices lack the means for recording the moves and are generally actuated mechanically or by relatively complex electrical components in the chessmen.

Hence, chess players and designers of chess playing equipment have long sought a move recording system which does not suffer from the distracting features of mechanical recording systems, and which use relatively simple and unobtrusive actuating elements in the chessmen. The present invention fulfills these requirements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention resides in a board game move recording system having electrical sensing devices beneath the game board, for sensing removal and replacement of game pieces, an encoder coupled to the sensing devices, for developing signals representative of moves of the pieces, and a recording device coupled to the encoder, for recording the moves of the game.

In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, by way of example, each piece of a set of chessmen has a small permanent magnet embedded in its base end, and the sensing devices utilize the Hall effect; i.e., an electrical signal is generated in each device only in the presence of a magnetic field. Thus, the board and chessmen of the invention outwardly resemble conventional chess playing equipment, and there is a minimal distracting influence on the players and spectators.

Whenever a chessman is removed from or replaced on the board, the sensing devices generate signals indicative of this actionand of the location of the square at which the action occurred. In the encoder, successive signals from the sensing devices are correlated in accordance with the rules of chess, to develop further signals, these defining the chess moves corresponding to the successive signals from the sensing devices. The recording device, preferably a small printer, prints the moves in a prescribed format after their completion, and may be located remotely from the game or completely sound-proofed to remove any possible distracting influence.

More specifically, in its presently preferred embodiment, the invention can detect and record simple moves, simple captures, castling on the King 5 side, castling on the Queens side, and capturing en passant.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the move recording system of the present invention has significant advantages over systems of thesame general type available heretofore. In particular, distracting mechanical linkages between the board and chessmen are eliminated, and the invention is quiet, unobtrusive, and yet simple and reliable in operation. Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus of the present invention as applied for use in a chess game;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of a chessman, partly broken away to show an embedded permanent magnet used in practicing the invention,

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the relationship of the three basic subsystems of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a logic diagram of an elemental sensor unit employed at each square of the chessboard of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a logic diagram of the board sensor subsystem of FIG.'3;

FIG. 6 is a logic diagram of the encoder or control logic subsystem of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is a logic diagram of the printer control subsystem of FIG. 3. 1

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, and particularly in FIG. l the move recording system of the present invention is connected with a chess board 10 for automatically recording the moves of a plurality of chessmen 11 on the board by means of a printing device 12, during the course of a game of chess. Typically, records of tournament and other serious chess games are manually produced. The manual method is, of course, somewhat error prone, and available mechanical recording systems generally require distracting modifications to the board'and the chessmen.

In accordance with the present invention, removal or replacement of the chessmen 11 is detected by sensors responsive to magnetic fields emanating from the chessmen, the sensors being located beneath the squares of the board 10, and being coupled to an encoder 13 for developing signals representative of moves of the chessmen, the encoder being coupled, in turn, to drive the printing device 12, which automatically prints the moves on a paper strip 14. In outward appearance, the chess board 10 and the chessmen 11 are conventional in design, and the move recording system of the invention is, at most, only minimally distracting to the players and spectators. Distraction is even further reduced if the printer 12' is soundproofed or removed to a location remote from the game.

As shown in FIG. 1, the encoder 13 may be housed separately from the board 10, and connected to the board by wires 15, and to the printer 12 by wires 16.

It willbe appreciated, however, that the encoder 13 power supply lead 17 to connect the device with normal household current. In thejembodimentshown in FIG. I, the encoder 13 also has an on-off power switch 18, and a reset button 19 which is used to reset logic in the encoder 13 prior to the start of a new game.

More specifically, in a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, a Hall type sensor 21 (FIG. 4) of conventional design is installed under each square of the board 10. These devices are supplied with direct current, and generate an output signal only in the presence of a threshold magnetic field. Each of the chessmen ll'has a small permanent-magnet 22 embedded in its base end, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and thus, each sensor 21 will generate an output signal only when one of the chessmen 11 is present on the square of the board 10 above that particular sensor. Each sensor 21 has associated with it a corresponding flip-flop 23 (FIG. 4) which indicates the presence or absence of a chessman 11 on the corresponding square of the board 10, and also has associated logic, illustrated in FIG. 4, to generate signals when the chessman 11 is removed from or replaced on the square.

FIG. 3 illustrates signal flow through the three basic logic subsystems of the invention: the board sensor sub-' system the control logic subsystem 6;and the printer control subsystem 7. In brief, the board sensor subsystem 5 generates a-remove signal or a replace" signal when a chessman 11 is removed from or replaced on a square of the board 10, and a six-bit signal uniquely identifying the square at which the remove or replace action occurred. These signals are then conveyed to the control logic subsystem 6 in the encoder 13, which correlates successive remove" and *replace signals to develop further signals defining the actual chess moves made by the chessmen 11. These latter signals are further processed by the printer control subsystem 7, and used to actuate the printer 12.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the logic associated with each sensor 21 under each square of the board 10, comprises the flip-flop 23, four AND gates 24-27, an OR gate 28,'and two diodes 29 and 30. The output signal from the sensor 21 is input to the AND gate 25 on line 31, and is input in inverse form to the AND gate 24 on line 32. Signal inversion is indicated throughout by a small open circle, as shown for example at 33. Also input to the AND gates 24 and 25 is a clock pulse signal generated by .a conventionalpulse generator 34 connected to the AND gates 24 and 25 by line 35. The clock pulse generator 34 is used to supply periodic cloc'lcpulses to all 64 sensor circuitscorresponding' to the 64 squares on the chess board 10. 1

The output from AND gate 24 is input to AND gate 26, and the output from AND gate 25 is input to AND gate 27. The ll outputof the flip-flop 23 is input to the AND gate 26 andthe-0"' output of the flip-flop 23 is input to the AND gate 27. As will be seen, the output 'of AND gate 26 is a removefsignal, which is connected to a remove terminal 41 along the line 42 and to the clear." terminal of the flipflop 23 along line 43.

Similarly, the output of AND gate27 is-a replace signal, which is connected to the set terminal of the flipflop 23 along line 44, Both'the remove signal and the replace signal-are also input to the" OR gate 28, to

produce a fremove or replace" signal, which is then connected to output terminals 45 and 46 through the respective diodes 29and 30. ln'operation', theflip-flop 23 of the sensor circuit illustrated in 'FIG.'4 is in the f l condition when one of the chessmen 11 is present above the sensor 21, and is in the 0 condition when no chessman is above the sensor. On the occurrence of a clock pulse, a signal is generated on line 36, the output from AND gate 25,

36) and was previously present (signal on line 40), or

if a chessman is absent (signal on line 37) and was previously absent, (signal on line 39), then neither AND gate 26 nor AND gate 27 will have an output signal, and no replace or remove signal is generated. If, however, a chessman was previously present (signal on line 40) and is currently absent (signal on line 37), then a remove signal appears at the output of AND gate 26, clears flip-flop 23, and also appears at the terminals 41, 45, and 46. Similarly, if a chessman'was previously absent and is currently present, a replace" signal appears at the output of AND gate 27, sets the flip-flop 23, and also appears at the terminals 45 and 46.

In FIG. 5, which illustrates the board sensor subsystem 5, each of thesquares labeled S through S represents one of the sensor circuits shown in detail in FIG. 4. Thus, the terminals shown at the lower, upper, and right-hand sides of the sensing circuits 8 -5 represent the removef' terminals 41,'the remove or replace terminals 45, and the remove or replace" terminals 46, respectively, in FIG. 4. The remaining logic of the board sensor subsystem comprises seven OR gates 51-57'and one AND gate 58, connected to'develop a remove signal a on line 59, a replace signal b on line 61 and a six bit binary number .Xo-Xg, on lines 62-67 indicating the square number at which the remove or replace action occurred, the squares being numbered for this purpose from 0 in the lower left corner to 63 in the upper right corner, i.e., in the same fashion as the sensor circuits 8 -8 in FIG. 5'. The remove" signal a is obtained by merely'ORing together the re'move signals from all of the 64 sensingjcir'cuits 8 -5 The replace," signal b is obtained by ORing together the"remove and replace'signals from all 64 sensing circuits, then ANDing the inverse of the remove signal in AND gate 58, thus producing as output the-replace signal b. The logic for generating thesix-bit identifying number x x -is conventional in the logic design art.

For example, the least significant bit x is developed by ORing together in OR gate 54 the remove or replace signals from only the odd; numbered squares. The remaining digits x,-x,-, areobtained in analogousfashion.

from the outputs of the OR

gates

55, 56, 53, 52, andSl, respectively. I v p v v A As shown in FIG. 6, in which'thecontrol logic subsystem 6 is illustrated in detail, the signals a, b, and x -x from the. board sensor subsystem 5 are there processed to generate further signals u -u, on lines 71-76, respectively, and signals f, g, h, i, j, k, s, t, and p, on lines 77-85, respectively. The meanings of these various output signals will shortly become apparent from the description to follow. Thelogic shown in FIG. 6 is illustrative of how successive signals from the board sensor. subsystem 5 maybe'examined and correlated to detect simple chess moves,simple.captures, castling moves, and capturing *en passant. It willbe understood,'however, that additions and modifications could be made to the logic shown to thereby detect more complex moves and situations in the chess game, such as checks, checkmates, and illegal moves.

Basically, the control logic subsystem 6 includes eight conventional flip-flops 86-93, which are also labeled M, N, K1, K2, C, Z, D and E, respectively, in FIG. 6, and a plurality of conventional AND and OR gates connected to analyze the incoming signals, x -x and a, and b, and to develop therefrom output signals on lines 71-85 for use by the printer control subsystem 7. The logic can be most meaningfully described in terms of the various chess moves that it detects.

A simple chess move from one square to another without capturing an opposing piece will result in an incoming a signal together with the number of the square from which the piece was removed, square numbering being from lower left to upper right as in FIG. 5, followed later by a b signal together with the number of the square on which the piece was replaced on the board 10. Normally, the M flip-flop 86 is at state'O, and the a signal sets it to l, which causes the output of a signal on the h line 79, indicating that the move is a noncapture. The a signal also normally appears on the f signal line 77, and simultaneously, the square number input as signals x -x is output as signals u,,-.u on lines 7l-76. The b signal generated by the subsequent replace" action clears the M flip-flop 86 and normally appears on line 78 as the signal g. v

If the move is a capture, the sequence of incoming signals will be a-a-b, i.e., two removes followed by one replace. The first a signal has the same effect as in the simple move, i.e., the M flip-flop 86 is set and an h signalappears on line 79, but on the second a signal, no h signal is generated, this indicating to the printer control subsystem (FIG. 7) that a capture move has beendetected. As in the simple move, the subsequent 12 signal clears the M flip-flop 86.

The castling move in chess is the only non-capturing move that requires the movement of two. chessmen. It

, involves the movement of the King two squares to the left or right of its original position on the board, then the movement of the closest Rook from its original corher position to a-position adjacent and on the other side of the King. Each player may only make the castling move once in a game, but castling may be executed on the Kings side," i.e., using the Rook closer to the Kings original position, or on the Queens side, i.e., using the Rook on the other side of the board, closer to the Queens original position. .lt can be seen that the castling move involves a sequence of signals a-b-a-b. The control logic subsystem 6.analyzes the first pair of a -b signals to determine if a castling move is being made, and if it is, conditions the control logic to selectively ignore the second a-b sequence during which the Rookis moved.

More specifically, in detecting castling, the signals X0I5 accompanying the first a signal are examined for skill in the electronics art will appreciate that the expressions contained in the blocks have easily reproducible circuit equivalents in the form of combinations of AND and OR gates.

When a remove signal from square number 4 is detected, the K1 flip-flop 88 and the C flip-flop 90 are set to indicate a possible castling move, and when a fremove from square number 60 is detected, the K2 flipflop 89 and the C flip-flop 90 are similarly set. On the subsequent replace or b signal, the position of the replace is examined to determine whether the King was moved two squares along an end row of the board 10, rather than one square, to which the Kings moves are usually restricted by the rules of chess. An AND gate 102 has as inputs the 1 output of the C flip-flop 90, the b signal, the x, signal, and the inverse of the x signal, so that an output signal, i, is generated on line 80 only when the King removed from square 4 is replaced on square 2 or square 6, or the King removed from square 60 is replaced on square 58 or square 62.

This i signal on line 80 confirms that castling has indeed been detected, and the N flip-flop 87 is set to disable, by means of AND

gates

107 and 108, detection of the subsequent a and b signals resulting when a Rook is moved to complete castling of the King. In a further refinement, once castling has been detected and an i signal generated, the x signal is examined to determine on which side of the board castling was executed. The square numbers are such that a signal on x indicates that castling is on the Kings or short side, and results in the generation of an additional signal, j on line 81 output from AND gate 109. The final b signal of the castling move acts to clear the N flip-flop 87 and the C flip-flop 90, but the K1 flip-flop 88 or K2 flip-flop 89, whichever is set, remains set throughout the game and prevents the detection of subsequent apparent castling moves by the same player.

Capturing en passant" occurs occasionally in chess games, and is merely a special move whereby a Pawn may capture another Pawn en passant, or in passing. The move occurs only when a players Pawn has reached the fifth rank or row from the player, and an opposing Pawn in an adjacent column is moved two squares to a position adjacent thefirst Pawn. The' first pawn is entitled to capture the second as though it had only been moved one square. Thus, capturing en passant produces signals in a sequence a-a-b, where the first remove is from the fourth or fifth rows (the fifth rank for either player), the second remove" is from the same row, and the final replace" occurs at the third or sixth rows. A remove from the fourth or fifth equality with the numbers 4 and 60, since, in the square numbering scheme used in this invention, the original positions of the two Kings are at squares 4 and 60, respectively. In the logic defined by the expression in block 100, a signal is generated if the binary equivalent 111, indicating that a capture en passant has been detected. The D flip-flop 92 and the E flip-flop 93 are cleared during the next move, by cooperation of AND

gates

112 and 113 and OR gate 114.

The Z flipflop 9.1 has its state changed by successive replace or b signals input to AND

gates

115 and 116, so that it effectively indicates which player is currently making a move. The 1 output of the Z flip-flop is con- .right five columns. g g

The characters printed at the various print positions ing to black and white moves, respectively.

A reset signal is generated on line 106 when the reset button 19 (FlG. l) is actuated, and this has the effect of resetting'all eightflip-flops 86-93 in preparation for anew game and temporarily suppressing a and b signals by means of AND gates ll7 and 118. A signal is generated on line 85 (P) whenever the Z flip-flop 91 is cleared, this being used by the printer 12 to initiate printing of one line of information, relating to one white move and one black move. For castling or capturing en passant, the u -u outputs are irrelevant and are suppressed by means of AND gates 121-126 acting in conjunction with Or gate 127.

In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the squares indicated in the recorded moves are designated by lettered columns A through H, and numbered rows 1 through 8, so that square number 0 for example is designated Al, square number 1 is B1, square number 8 is A2, and so on. It will be understood, however, that the invention could be modified to print the moves in what is commonly known as descriptive chess notation. The moves are printed in alO column format, the first five column positions indicating white moves, and the second five column positions indicating black moves.,Each of the column positions has a corresponding control element, Pl through P10 in FIG. 7, and each control element has four input terminals to manufactured or adjusted to include the foregoing character set. By way of .example, a SHARP Model 2242, matrix-dot printer, manufactured by Sharp Electronics Corp., Paramus, New Jersey, is one suitable printer that could be used in the present invention.

It will be apparent that of the signals lid-M5, the first three bits u -u indicate a column position 0-7 while the upper three bits u -u areindicative of arrow position 0 through 7. Therefore, the signals u -u aresimply connected to supply a column position to'print positions P1 and P4 (and P6 and P9), and a row position to positions P2 and P5 (and P7 and P10). The center character, P3 and P8, of each setof five, prints merely a for simple moves, so thata line of printed output appears, for example, as B3-D3 A2-C3.

The signals h, i, j, and k have special effects on the output format. The absence of an h signal, for example,

. results in the printing of an X character in the central position, to indicate a capture move. Castling on the Queens side results in the printing of the characters O-O-O, while castling on the Kings side produces a j signal on line 81 as well as an 1' signal on line 80, resultaccept a four-bit-control signal, and an enable terminal t'rol element is supplied with a four-bit control signal in the range 0 through 9, togetherwith an accompanying enable signal, this actionv conditioning theprinter for printing a character corresponding to the control signal when a print signal (P) is impressed on line 85. When white moves are being analyzed, there is a t signal on line 84and only print positions 1 through 5 are enabled, and when black moves are being analyzed there is a s signal on line 83, and only print positions 6 through 10 are enabled. Thus ,white moves'will be printed in the left five columns, and black moves in the in response to-control signals impressed onthe inputs.

terminalsof the control elements Pl through P10 are given in the following table:

Control Pl The printer 12 (FIG. 1) maybe any of a wide variety ing in the printing of the characters 0-0.

It can be seen from the foregoing that the move recording system described herein can be used to accurately and automatically record every move of a chess game in such a fashion that the game can be reproduced from the record. Furthermore,the'invention accomplishes this with conventional looking chessboard and chessmen, anda consequent minimal distracting influence on the players and spectators. It will also be apparent that, while a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, various modifications can be made without departing'from the spirit and scope of the invention. AccordinglyQthe invention is not to be limited, except as by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A system for automatically recording moves on a game board, comprising:

first electrical means positioned under respective squares of a game board, for sensingremoval of game pieces from and replacement of game pieces nals indicative of removal, replacement and'squa're location; 1 g i second electrical means coupled with said first electrical means, for identifying specific moves defined by rules of the game from the successive signals developed by said first electrical means, and developing further signals indicative of the identified moves; and I I printing means coupled with said second electrical means for producing a readable record of the and selectively actuating printing elements ,to print the 1 record in a desired format.

3. A system asset forth in claim 1, wherein said first electrical means include:

sensor means responsive to the presence of the game pieces; I I memory means indicative of the locations of the game pieces on the board; and Y 1 on the squares and forideveloping successive sigsensor means.

5. Apparatus for automatically detecting and recording moves in a chess game, comprising:

sensor means installed at respective squares of a chess board; sensor actuation means integral with each chessman used in the game; electrical means coupled with said sensor means, for developing signals indicative of specific moves defined by rules of the game; and printing means coupled with said electrical means,

for producing a record of the game in a desired format. 6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said electrical means include:

memorymeans indicative of the locations of chessmen on the chess board;

sensor logic means for periodically updating said memory means in accordance with signals from said sensor means and for developing primary signals indicative of removal and replacement of the chessmen, and indicative of locations corresponding to such removal and replacement; and encoder logic means for developing from said primary signals said signals indicative of specific moves of the game. 7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said encoder logic means include means for identifying simple moves and captures.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said encoder logic means further include means for identifyingcastling long and castling short.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim wherein said printing means include printer control logic for receiving said signals indicative of specific moves of the game and selectively conditioning printer elements to record the game in a comprehensible format, whereby one white move and one black move are printed on each line and the square are designated by row and column identifiers.

10. For use in a chess game, a system for automatically recording moves defined by rules of chess, said system comprising:

a plurality of magnetic field sensors positioned beneath respective squares of a chess board;

a plurality of magnets secured to respective chessmen used in the game; sensor logic means connected with said plurality of magnetic field sensors, for generatingprimary electrical signals indicative of the actions of removal and replacement of the chessmen, and of the locations of said actions; control logic means coupled with said'sensor logic means, for identifying said chess moves from successive ones of said primary electrical signals, and for generating therefrom secondary electrical signals representative of said identified chess moves;

printer means for recording said chess moves in a desired format, whereby each line contains a white move and a black move and the squares are represented by numbered columns and lettered rows; and printer control means coupled with said control logic means and with said printer means, for receiving said secondary electrical signals and selectively energizing elements of said printer means to record said moves in the desired format.

11. A system as set forth in claim 10, wherein:

said sensor logic means include memory means coupled with said plurality of magnetic field sensors and indicative of the location of the chessmen; and

said sensor logic means periodically update said memory means in generating said primary electrical signals.

12. A system as set forth in claim 10, wherein said control logic means include means for identifying simple moves and captures.

13. A system as set forth in claim 10, wherein said control logic means further include means for identifying castling moves on the Kings side and castling moves on the Queen's side.

14. Apparatus for automatically detecting and recording moves in a chess game, comprising:

sensor means installed at respective squares of a chess board;

sensor actuation means integral with each chessman used in the game; electrical means-coupled with said sensor means, for

developing signals indicative of moves of the said electrical means includingmemory means indicative of the locations of chessmen on the chess board, sensor logic means for periodically'updating said memory means in accordance with signals from said sensor means and for developing primary signals indicative of removal and replacement of the chessmen, and

encoder logic means for developing from said primary signals said signals indicative of moves of the game, said encoder logic means including means for identifying simple moves, captures, castling long, castling short, and captures en passant; and printing means coupled with said electrical means,

for producing a record of the game in a desired format. 15. A system for automatically recording moves in a chess game, comprising:

a plurality of magnetic field sensors positioned beneath respective squares of a chess board; a plurality of magnets secured to respective chessmen used in the game; sensor logic means connected with said plurality of magnetic field sensors, for generating primary elec- 1 trical signals indicative of the actions of removal and replacement of the chessmen, and of the locations of said actions;

control logic means coupled with said sensor logic printer means for recording said chess moves in a de sired format, whereby each line contains a white move and a black move and the squares are repregame, I

' said secondary electrical signals andselectively energizing elements-of said printer means to record said moves in the desired format; said control logic means including means for identifying simple moves and captures, and captures en passant."

Claims

1. A system for automatically recording moves on a game board, comprising: first electrical means positioned under respective squares of a game board, for sensing removal of game pieces from and replacement of game pieces on the squares and for developing successive signals indicative of removal, replacement and square location; second electrical means coupled with said first electrical means, for identifying specific moves defined by rules of the game from the successive signals developed by said first electrical means, and developing further signals indicative of the identified moves; and printing means coupled with said second electrical means for producing a readable record of the moves of the game.

2. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said printing means include third electrical means for receiving said further signals indicative of the identified moves and selectively actuating printing elements to print the record in a desired format.

3. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first electrical means include: sensor means responsive to the presence of the game pieces; memory means indicative of the locations of the game pieces on the board; and periodically operative memory updating means for automatically updating said memory means in response to signals from said sensor means, and for developing the signals indicative of removal, replacement and location of said game pieces.

4. A system as set forth in claim 3, further including means integral with the game pieces for actuating said sensor means.

5. Apparatus for automatically detecting and recording moves in a chess game, comprising: sensor means installed at respective squares of a chess board; sensor actuation means integral with each chessman used in the game; electrical means coupled with said sensor means, for developing signals indicative of specific moves defined by rules of the game; and printing means coupled with said electrical means, for producing a record of the game in a desired format.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said electrical means include: memory means indicative of the locations of chessmen on the chess board; sensor logic means for periodically updating said memory means in accordance with signals from said sensor means and for developing primary signals indicative of removal and replacement of the chessmen, and indicative of locations corresponding to such removal and replacement; and encoder logic means for developing from said primary signals said signals indicative of specific moves of the game.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said encoder logic means include means for identifying simple moves and captures.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said encoder logic means further include means for identifying castling long and castling short.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said printing means include printer control logic for receiving said signals indicative of specific moves of the game and selectively conditioning printer elements to record the game in a comprehensible format, whereby one white move and one black move are printed on each line and the square are designated by row and column identifiers.

10. For use in a chess game, a system for automatically recording moves defined by rules of chess, said system comprising: a plurality of magnetic field sensors positioned beneath respective squares of a chess board; a plurality of magnets secured to respective chessmen used in the game; sensor logic means connected with said plurality of magnetic field sensors, for generating primary electrical signals indicative of the actions of removal and replacement of the chessmen, and of the locations of said actions; control logic means coupled with said sensor logic means, for identifying said chess moves from successive ones of said primary electrical signals, and for generating therefrom secondary electrical signals representative of said identified chess moves; printer means for recording said chess moves in a desired format, whereby each line contains a white move and a black move and the squares are represented by numbered columns and lettered rows; and printer control means coupled with said control logic means and with said printer means, for receiving said secondary electrical signals and selectively energizing elements of said printer means to record said moves in the desired format.

11. A system as set forth in claim 10, wherein: said sensor logic means include memory means coupled with said plurality of magnetic field sensors and indicative of the location of the chessmen; and said sensor logic means periodically update said memory means in generating said primary electrical signals.

13. A system as set forth in claim 10, wherein said control logic means further include means for identifying castling moves on the King''s side and castling moves on the Queen''s side.

14. Apparatus for automatically detecting and recording moves in a chess game, comprising: sensor means installed at respective squares of a chess board; sensor actuation means integral with each chessman used in the game; electrical means coupled with said sensor means, for developing signals indicative of moves of the game, said electrical means including memory means indicative of the locations of chessmen on the chess board, sensor logic means for periodically updating said memory means in accordance with signals from said sensor means and for developing primary signals indicative of removal and replacement of the chessmen, and encoder logic means for developing from said primary signals said signals indicative of moves of the game, said encoder logic means including means for identifying simple moves, captures, castling long, castling short, and captures ''''en passant;'''' and printing means coupled with said electrical means, for producing a record of the game in a desired format.

15. A system for automatically recording moves in a chess game, comprising: a plurality of magnetic field sensors positioned beneath respective squares of a chess board; a plurality of magnets secured to respective chessmen used in the game; sensor logic means connected with said plurality of magnetic field sensors, for generating primary electrical signals indicative of the actions of removal and replacement of the chessmen, and of the locations of said actions; control logic means coupled with said sensor logic means, for identifying said chess moves from successive ones of said primary electrical signals, and for generating secondary electrical signals representative of said identified chess moves; printer means for recording said chess moves in a desired format, whereby each line contains a white move and a black move and the squares are represented by numbered columns and lettered rows; and printer control means coupled with said control logic means and with said printer means, for receiving said secondary electrical signals and selectively energizing elements of said printer means to record said moves in the desired format; said control logic means including means for identifying simple moves and captures, and captures ''''en passant.''''