I guess I'm getting a little antsy waiting for the daughterboard PCB to arrive (it has been shipped). To pass the time I thought I would try out an idea I had for a stripped down version of CHESSmate. My goal of course is to make a full blown reproduction that provides a truly authentic CHESSmate experience, but that may not be everyone's aesthetic. To that end I present CHESSmate Lite, a minimalist take on the 1976 classic.

When I laid out the PCB, I made sure that all of the labels from the membrane were copied onto the silkscreen layer. This allows one to make a working version of CHESSmate without the membrane. In fact you could just make a version that had only the main PCB with the CPU daughterboard attached to the back and nothing else. The only problem with this configuration is that the daughterboard prevents the combined unit from lying flat. So to fix that I designed this minimal frame.

Not much to it. You attach the PCB to the frame with eight 3M x 4mm bolts. There is a platform on the back onto which the piezo speaker can be mounted with two sided tape. With the daughterboard attached, power would be provided via the ESP-32's USB-C connector. The rubber feet work well keeping the unit from sliding as keys are pressed. 

I like that the insides are on the outside. It's a great look IMHO. Not having to print the case and make the membrane cuts considerable time and effort off of the build. I have added the frame design along with the other models to GitHub.