Our more astute readers may have noticed this interesting fact already: chess pieces and Hot Wheels (or Matchbox, or similar) cars are both small, solid objects that can be held easily in one hand. I’ve confirmed this with a double-blind study. This fact leads to one question: what cars would be what chess pieces?
This is a trickier question that you might initially suspect; you need cars that are visually distinct, yet manage to convey just enough of the character of the chess piece to make sense in its role.
Here’s a quick example set:
Pawns: Original 1968 Hot Wheels Custom Beetle
Rook: Jeep CJ-7
Knight: Toyota 2000 GT
Bishop: Cockney Cab II
Queen: Citroën SM (Matchbox)
King: Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud (1958)
Something like that. But you’ll do better. So let’s see what you come up with!