chess

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈches 

: a game for 2 players each of whom moves 16 pieces according to fixed rules across a checkerboard and tries to checkmate the opponent's king

Illustration of chess

• chessboard with chess pieces arranged as at the beginning of a game

chess

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

: a weedy annual European bromegrass (Bromus secalinus) widely naturalized in North America as a weed especially in grain

2

: any of several weedy bromegrasses related to chess

Examples of chess in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But the systems that conquered chess and Go were purpose-built for those specific games, unlike general-purpose systems like Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT. —Tharin Pillay, Time, 13 Jan. 2026

August 23 – September 22 Today is like a game of chess — even your small moves matter. —Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 13 Jan. 2026

Storylines to watch in Eagles-49ers The chess match between 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and Eagles defense coordinator Vic Fangio will be one of the most intriguing storylines to watch in Sunday's game in South Philly. —Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026

Many classic games—chess, Go, checkers—encourage players to think before acting, says Gobet. —Clarissa Brincat, Popular Science, 8 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English chesse, ches, esches, borrowed from Anglo-French escheks, eschez "game of chess" — more at check entry 2

Noun (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1736, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing chess

• chess pie

Rhymes for chess

• bless
• cress
• dress
• es
• ess
• esse
• fess
• guess
• jess
• less
• lesse
• mess

Kids Definition

chess

noun

ˈches

: a game for two players each of whom plays with 16 pieces on a checkerboard

Etymology

Noun

Middle English ches "game of chess," from early French eschés (same meaning), literally, "checks," from eschec "check" — related to check, checker