Checkmate ... not once, but twice

COEUR d'ALENE - Ted Wheeler is one of those people who might be too smart for their own good.

This is a guy who, when asked to talk about a chess board he says he designed, gives this answer: "The conduction for geometric figures and pro-algebra that advances the science in ..." and the rest is a blur of references to something about "A to the triangle," "C to the circle," and "the squared root of B to the square."

Eyes glaze over as Wheeler speaks. Can you put that in English?

OK, here we go again.

He shows a circular board with 128 rectangles. On it are two sets of chessmen, 64 pieces, instead of the traditional 32. One player takes the outside two rows with his pawns, rooks, knights, bishops, queens and kings. The other takes the inside two rows.

Then, play. Same rules as standard chess. Capture the king, you win.

"No difference," the Post Falls man says. "You can play slow or fast or over the phone."

Just more pieces, more options, more strategy.

More head scratching, too.

"This makes it a little more complicated. You can end up having teams, partners, or just play half a game if you wanted to play that way," he says.

Oh, and games may last longer.

"Twice as long," he says with a shrug.

Wheeler has been playing chess since he was 7 and says he's just "fair" at the board game.

"I've been beat," he says.

There are other versions of chess boards than the traditional 64-square type. Three-D and circular have been around. Wheeler says his round design just has more spaces to allow for more pieces to enter the fray.

He would love to see a game company mass produce his board and has sent out a few inquiries. No response, though.

Still, he has a name for it: "Double chess and checkers."

"Or Dark Horse," he adds.

Wheeler, who wears a black T-shirt on this day that says: "Fear me. I have the power to destroy you," is polite and soft-spoken. Yet, he's also what many might consider eccentric. He's not a tidy dresser and usually wears a backward baseball hat. He carries a black briefcase filled with his drawings and sketches. He's particularly proud of colorful, detailed bank notes he has created as artwork, and even hopes to introduce them to the world currency market.

He produces a few samples, with values of 10 pounds, 50 pounds and 300 pounds that say "United Kingdom," and underneath a drawing of two unicorns it reads, "International English Pounds note." You can buy them for $2 each or 3 for $5.

"I've sold a few," Wheeler says.

Again, despite some letters to the White House, no bankers have expressed interest in a new paper money system.

That doesn't deter Wheeler. He notes he's an ad-lib musician, and says he can play the mandolin, violin, bass, guitar.

"It's really a trip when I play," he said.

The 47-year-old also shows off detailed drawings he has completed of the Millennium Falcon and speaks frequently in scientific terms.

He considers himself an inventive type, who sees what others don't, who thinks what others can't.

But for now, he's simply contemplating his next move with his chess board design.

"If you look at it, it kind of shifts back and forth because it's circular," he says. "It's kind of optical."

Don't move until you see it.