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

chesses 

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

chess

³

[ches]

noun

plural

chess, chesses 

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

chess

¹

/ 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

²

/ tʃɛs /

noun

1. a less common name for rye-brome

chess

³

/ tʃɛs /

noun

1. a floorboard of the deck of a pontoon bridge

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

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

Origin of chess²

C18: of unknown origin

Origin of chess³

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

Example Sentences

Jonathan Pryce plays Elizabeth’s husband, Stephen, no longer in the early stages of dementia, and his scenes with Elizabeth and Bogdnan, who becomes a chess partner, are handled beautifully, with an absence of corn.

From Los Angeles Times

But Eze has interests other than football too - and picked up £15,000 weeks before the FA Cup final by winning an online chess competition against other celebrity content creators and athletes.

From BBC

It’s a key sequence in the script, yet we can’t get a grip on whether it’s horrific luck or a game of six-dimensional chess.

From Los Angeles Times

The Scottish Prison Service said it was having to play "a daily game of chess" in its jails to keep violent rivals apart.

From BBC

The jailing of hundreds of Scottish gangsters has left prison staff playing a daily game of chess as they try to keep violent rivals apart.

From BBC