Chess is a game for two people, played on a chessboard. Each player has 16 pieces, includinga king. Your aim is to move your pieces so that your opponent's king cannot escape being taken.
...the world chess championships.
chess in British English1
(tʃɛs)
noun
a game of skill for two players using a chessboard on which chessmen are moved. Initially each player has one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns, which have different types of moves according to kind. The object is to checkmate the opponent's king
Word origin
C13: from Old French esches, plural of eschec check (at chess); see check
chess in British English2
(tʃɛs)
noun
US a less common name for rye-brome
Word origin
C18: of unknown origin
chess in British English3
(tʃɛs)
nounWord forms: pluralchess or chesses
a floorboard of the deck of a pontoon bridge
Word origin
C15 (in the sense: layer, tier): from Old French chasse frame, from Latin capsa box
chess in American English1
(tʃɛs)
noun
a game of skill played on a chessboard by two players, each with 16 chessmen limited in movement according to kind, the object being to checkmate the opponent's king
Word origin
ME ches, chesse < OFr esches, pl. of eschec: see check
chess in American English2
(tʃɛs)
noun
any of several varieties of brome grass, esp. a weedy kind (Bromus secalinus) found in fields of grain
They had a great relationship and would play cards or chess together at lunchtime.
The Sun (2016)
And I am trying to play the chess game the right way.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
The contention is that the mind is a muscle that is exercised by bridge and chess.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The students pass their time playing chess and studying.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Think of it as the opening move in a chess game.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
What do you call a bunch of chess players bragging about their games in a hotel lobby?
The Sun (2014)
Is it mindless thuggery or as mentally demanding as a game of chess?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The chess moves are being displayed on a large board.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He played multiple games of chess with local youth.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Chess is a game in which you win or you lose.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Ask a chess player what happened in a match and he will give you a little list of moves.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He could play draughts and chess better than any other patient and worked in the hospital as a painter and decorator.
The Sun (2011)
Perspective is challenged as we the audience look down through a tunnel at a chess game being played on a floor below.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Walpole was engaged in playing not one, but two games of chess.
Malcolm Balen A VERY ENGLISH DECEIT: The Secret History of the South Sea Bubble and the First GreatFinancial Scandal (2002)
World chess champion v primary school also-ran.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Somewhat surprisingly in the rarefied atmosphere of modern grandmaster chess, this bucolic approach bears fruit.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But sport is different from say, chess or bridge or snakes and ladders.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They were playing chess, another one was reading an encyclopedia.
The Sun (2013)
The year 2010 saw a mighty swathe cut through some of the great names in world chess.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
After this, there will be only one champion and chess will be whole again.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Is it annoying that chess players don't have the same status as other stars?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Some chatted, some played draughts or chess.
Aldiss, Brian Somewhere East of Life (1994)
It would be the sort of political chess move to put a smile on his face, but it would be significant.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Of course, when played socially, neither chess nor bridge can remotely be considered a sport.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Word lists with
chess
board game
In other languages
chess
British English: chess /tʃɛs/ NOUN
Chess is a game for two people played on a board with 64 black and white squares. Each player has 16 pieces including a King. The aim is to trap your opponent's King.
He was playing chess with his uncle.
American English: chess
Arabic: شِطْرَنْـج
Brazilian Portuguese: xadrez
Chinese: 国际象棋
Croatian: šah
Czech: šachy
Danish: skak
Dutch: schaakspel
European Spanish: ajedrez
Finnish: šakki
French: échecs
German: Schachspiel
Greek: σκάκι
Italian: scacchi
Japanese: チェス
Korean: 체스
Norwegian: sjakk
Polish: szachy
European Portuguese: xadrez
Romanian: șah
Russian: шахматы
Latin American Spanish: ajedrez
Swedish: schack
Thai: หมากรุก
Turkish: satranç
Ukrainian: шахи
Vietnamese: cờ trò chơi
All related terms of 'chess'
chess pie
a dessert made of a custardlike mixture of butter , sugar , eggs, etc., baked in a pie shell
chess set
a set of 32 chessmen constituting complete sets in two colours, and sometimes including a chess board
blitz chess
See speed chess
chess club
a club in which participants can learn chess and improve their playing skills
speed chess
a form of chess in which each player's game is limited to a total stipulated time, usually half an hour ; the first player to exceed the time limit loses
chess master
If you say that someone is a master of a particular activity, you mean that they are extremely skilled at it.
Chinese chess
a Chinese game, resembling chess , played on a board consisting of two halves , each eight squares by four , with a strip separating them: pieces representing the military of ancient China are placed on the intersections of the lines and the game is won when a general is checkmated
lightning chess
rapid chess in which either each move has a fixed time allowed (usually 10 seconds) or both players are allotted a fixed time (often 5 minutes ) for all their moves
rapid transit chess
rapid chess in which either each move has a fixed time allowed (usually 10 seconds) or both players are allotted a fixed time (often 5 minutes ) for all their moves