This chess set was constructed as an assignment during my second semester at the Institute. The goal was to create a chess set that sits apart from a traditional chess set. I chose to use acrylic because I knew quite a bit about the material despite never actually working with it before. I also knew I wanted to play with light, which is the reason I decided to use transparent acrylic for the pieces and inlays of the board. I inserted an LED into each inlay so that the light would illuminate the piece sitting atop of it. This resulted in a total of sixty-four LEDs illuminating the board; needless to say, playing in the dark is no problem using this board. The chess set spent a couple weeks in the Cleveland Public Library’s Special Collections before being returned to me.
