chess

¹

[ ches ]

noun

1. a game played on a chessboard by two people who maneuver sixteen pieces each according to rules governing movement of the six kinds of pieces (pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, king), the object being to bring the opponent's king into checkmate.

chess

²

[ ches ]

noun

, plural chess·es.

1. any of several weedy species of bromegrass, especially Bromus secalinus.

chess

³

[ ches ]

noun

, plural chess, chess·es.

1. one of the planks forming the roadway of a floating bridge.

chess

¹

/ tʃɛs /

noun

1. a floorboard of the deck of a pontoon bridge

chess

²

/ tʃɛs /

noun

1. 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

chess

³

/ tʃɛs /

noun

1. a less common name for rye-brome

Word History and Origins

Origin of chess¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English che(e)s, chesse, echesse, esches, from Old French esches, plural of eschec check ¹

Origin of chess²

First recorded in 1735–40; origin unknown

Origin of chess³

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English ches “tier, layer,” possibly alteration of Middle French chasse “frame”

Word History and Origins

Origin of chess¹

C15 (in the sense: layer, tier): from Old French chasse frame, from Latin capsa box

Origin of chess²

C13: from Old French esches, plural of eschec check (at chess); see check

Origin of chess³

C18: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

Students identified him as Maximiliano Perez, a history teacher who has participated in multiple school clubs, including the chess club.

From Los Angeles Times

We’re sitting on a couch in the pool house of a Mediterranean-style home in the Hollywood Hills that has been owned over the years by Mary Astor, record producer Marshall Chess and Marilyn Manson.

From Los Angeles Times

There, Babitz found the ideal milieu for her free-form libertinism, sharing pitchers of Schlitz at Barney’s Beanery with the emergent artists of the decade — Ed Ruscha, Billy Al Bengston, Larry Bell — and famously posed nude while playing chess with Marcel Duchamp at a local art museum in 1963.

From Los Angeles Times

During their postseason success, manager Dave Roberts proved to be a chess master throughout the playoffs.

From Los Angeles Times

This is not speed chess, to reference Reeves’s favourite pastime.

From BBC