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

After winning the inaugural chess competition at the Esports World Cup (EWC) last year, the Norwegian Grandmaster successfully defended his crown after beating Denis Lazavik in straight sets in the Grand Final in Paris on Saturday. — Emile Nuh, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026

Deep Blue, a custom supercomputer built by IBM for chess-playing, beat world champion Garry Kasparov in a game in 1997. — Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Florian Ospina, in the school library, made sure no chess pieces were missing. — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026

The boy was remembered for his love of learning, swimming and skiing, and his enthusiasm for chess and soccer camp. — David Chiu, PEOPLE, 11 Aug. 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