Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A board game for two players, each beginning with 16 pieces of six kinds that are moved according to individual rules, with the objective of checkmating the opposing king.
- n. Any of several species of brome grass, especially the cheat.
- n. One of the floorboards of a pontoon bridge.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A very ancient game played by two persons or parties with thirty-two pieces on a checkered board divided into sixty-four squares. The squares are alternately light and dark, and in beginning a game the board must be so placed that the square at the right-hand corner is a light one. The vertical rows of squares are called
files , those which run from right to left, ranks or lines, and those (of the same color) which run obliquely, diagonals. Each party has sixteen pieces, differently colored to distinguish those of one side from those of the other, viz., a king, a queen, two bishops, two knights, and two rooks or castles, placed on the squares of the end line of the board, and eight pawns placed on the next line in front. The king and queen are placed on the two middle squares, the queen on her own color (light or dark), and by the side of each are placed a bishop, a knight, and a rook, in this order. The pieces move according to certain laws over unoccupied squares, the knight alone being free from this latter restriction (see below). The king moves one square in any direction (except into check); the queen in any direction and to any distance along the rows of squares, and also along the diagonals; the rooks or castles in any direction along the files or ranks of squares; the bishops (of which there is one on each color) in any direction along the diagonals of the color on which they are originally placed; the knights one square on one row and then two squares on the row at right angles to it (or two squares and then one) in any direction, without reference to interposing pieces; and the pawns one square ahead on the files. A piece is taken by removing it from the board and placing the capturing piece in its place. In taking, each piece makes some one of its ordinary moves, except the pawn, which takes by moving one square forward on a diagonal; the knight alone can take by jumping over an intervening piece. The object of the game is to capture the king of the opposing party; and this is effected by an attack so planned that it is impossible, either by moving the opposing king or by interposing another piece, to prevent him from being taken on the next move — that is, by placing the opposing king in a check from which he cannot escape. (Seecheck , checkmate, and stalemate.) The squares of the board are commonly numbered along the files, forward from either party, from the principal pieces placed upon them at the beginning of a game: as, the queen's rook's square (abbreviated Q. R. sq.), queen's rook's second square (Q. R. 2), etc. - n. The common name in the United States of several species of Bromus, especially B. secalinus, which bears some resemblance to oats, and is frequently more or less abundant as a weed in wheat-fields. Also called cheat.
- n. One of the planks forming the roadway of a military bridge. The chesses lie upon the balks, which are longitudinal timbers resting upon the bateaux or pontoons.
- n. An obsolete variant of chase.
- n. Obsolete form jess.
- n. Dice.
Wiktionary
- n. military One of the platforms, consisting of two or more planks dowelled together, for the flooring of a temporary military bridge.
- n. now chiefly US A type of grass, generally considered a weed.
- n. A board game for two players with each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A game played on a chessboard, by two persons, with two differently colored sets of men, sixteen in each set. Each player has a king, a queen, two bishops, two knights, two castles or rooks, and eight pawns.
- n. (Bot.), United States A species of brome grass (Bromus secalinus) which is a troublesome weed in wheat fields, and is often erroneously regarded as degenerate or changed wheat; it bears a very slight resemblance to oats, and if reaped and ground up with wheat, so as to be used for food, is said to produce narcotic effects; -- called also
cheat andWillard's bromus .
WordNet 3.0
- n. weedy annual native to Europe but widely distributed as a weed especially in wheat
- n. a board game for two players who move their 16 pieces according to specific rules; the object is to checkmate the opponent's king
Etymologies
- Compare French chassis ("a framework of carpentry"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English ches, short for Old French esches, pl. of eschec, check in chess; see check.Origin unknown.Middle English ches, tier, perhaps from Old French chasse, frame, from Latin capsa, box. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“To maximize your reach to chess enthusiasts on Twitter you should include the #chess hashtag to your updates. alter-me, 13 March 2009, 16.22: Can we please have a discussion here about broadcasts, copyrights and PR, please?”
“Um … The king in chess is supposed to have 8 short spines on top with a single object in the middle to signify that it moves one space in any direction (except when castling).”
“The word “Checkmate” in chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat,” which means “the king is dead.””
“The term chess has come to represent political, economic, or military maneuvers.”
“In their houses, they play much at that most ingenious game which we call chess, or else at draughts.”
“So far, I am confident I have not been in their way, but quite the reverse; the chess is a great resource for Mr. Buller in the first loneliness occasioned by the loss of little Theresa; and Mrs. Buller seems to get some good of talking with me: as for Reginald, now that he has conquered, or rather that I have conquered, his first terror, he does not seem to have anything to object to me very particularly.”
“That is, where there is a critical mass of 50% girls 'participation in chess in a community, significant differences in ability compared to boys disappear.”
“One of the plus points of chess is that you can sit down and play anyone and you are on equal footing.”
“Undoubtedly it is far more useful for success in chess to have a motivated teacher at an early age rather than some fraction more intelligence.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Too Smart to Become the Chess World Champion?
“There is virtually no one who can study chess full time for a few years and beat the best public domain chess programs.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Too Smart to Become the Chess World Champion?
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘chess’.
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the curious incident of the dog in th...
words from a novel by mark haddon
dog, garden fork, Wellington, prime, maths, clench, The Hound of the ..., police, dead, bread-slicing mac..., groaning, drawn and 126 more...
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Of Arabic Origin
Arabic loanwords in English are words acquired directly from Arabic or else indirectly by passing from Arabic into other languages and then into English. Most entered one or more of the Romance lan...
admiral, adobe, albatross, alchemy, alcohol, alcove, alembic, alfalfa, algebra, algorism, algorithm, alidade and 181 more...
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SPOR - chess
escape square, chess, mate, capture, safe square, take, castling, board, piece, move, pawn, attack and 41 more...
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Grasses
Grasses, and words about grasses.
Prairie grasses names are found in this list.
Names of medical marijuana strains can be found elsewhere.cheatgrass, downy brome, chess, brome, bronco-grass, graminoid, grassland, phytolith, steppe, tallgrass prairie, sword grass, panicle and 323 more...
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The sun never sets
viceroy, pondicherry, nabob, pukka sahib, ayah, bridge, crore, parsee, scandal point, madras, sepoy, kerala and 21 more...
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There's A Virtual Museum For That!
List of virtual or on-line museums, from barf bags to corkscrews. List museum subject and in comment form provide a link to the virtual museum.
moist towelettes, corkscrews, air sickness bags, wax figures, HP Calculators, ejection, radioactive consu..., Pac-Man museum, weird nebraska, music museum, navel fluff, airbrush and 16 more...
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and ...
Words that, as I see it, have some fond connection to the Alice stories through their creation or particular use by Lewis Carroll. I mean to tie them all together with contexty comments!
alice, daisy-chain, white rabbit, waistcoat-pocket, rabbit-hole, marmalade, antipathy, antipode, curtsey, dinah, tea-time, rat-hole and 232 more...
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Samme's Words
soliloquy, meander, creativity, magic, discovery, happiness, empowerment, abundance, [magnificent], iridescent, artistic, magical and 694 more...
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agirregabiria's Words
educación, quizá, tú, razón, sí, universo, verdad, hijos, ilusión, jardín, lluvia, libertad and 134 more...
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merfee's Words
supple, dichotomy, relish, rhapsody, pneumonoultramicr..., embrace, ishmael, ebullient, recalcitrant, elegy, char, lugubrious and 522 more...
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at play
anagrams, pictionary, scrabble, cryptogram, backgammon, battleship, chess, clue, go, mahjong, mancala
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Chairman of the Board... Game
battleship, monopoly, risk, clue, go, chess, checkers, sorry, trouble, operation, perfection, shogi and 11 more...
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words from chess
chess, chessmen, king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, pawn, opening, fianchetto, attack, defense and 31 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for chess.

ruzuzu For a link to the online museum, see pauperty. Aug 18, 2011
seanahan The thinking man's game. Feb 20, 2007