chess

IPA/tʃes/
KK[tʃˈɛs]IPA/tʃes/

chess — noun

1. Chess involves two people thinking and planning as they move their pieces. Each

1.nounA2
Definition

Chess involves two people thinking and planning as they move their pieces. Each player controls sixteen pieces of different types on a board of 64 light and dark squares. The winner is the player who traps the other's king so it cannot escape.

Example

Theo played chess with his grandfather every Sunday afternoon.

collocation: play + chess

Aiko won her first chess tournament at the age of twelve.

collocation: chess tournament

Common collocations
  • play chess
  • chess game
  • chess set
  • chess pieces
  • chessboard
  • chess match
  • chess tournament
  • chess club
  • chess champion
  • win at chess
  • good at chess
Synonyms
  • strategy game

    a game that requires careful planning and thinking ahead, like chess

  • board game

    a general category of games played on a board; chess is one well-known type

Usage Note

In English, we say 'play chess' without the word 'the'. Do not say 'play the chess.' The same rule applies to most games and sports: play football, play cards, play checkers.

Common Mistakes

She likes to play the chess with her brother.
She likes to play chess with her brother.
In English, we do not use 'the' before the name of a game or sport.

Word family

  • chessboard
    nounA2
  • chess piece
    nounA2
  • chess set
    nounA2
  • chess player
    nounA2
  • chess match
    nounB1
  • chess tournament
    nounB1
  • checkmate
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Chess, checkers (called draughts in British English), and Go are all games played on a board by two people, but they work very differently. In checkers, all pieces are the same and move diagonally, jumping over opponents to capture them — the rules are simple and games are short. In Go, which started in China over 2,500 years ago, players take turns placing black and white stones on a grid, trying to surround more territory than their opponent. Go has very simple rules but extremely deep strategy. Chess is different because it has six types of piece (king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, pawn), each with its own way of moving. This makes chess more structured, with clear opening moves and a definite goal: checkmate. For example, a chess player might say 'I sacrificed my queen to win the game,' but in checkers or Go, no piece has such special power or value.

checkers ↗Go ↗draughts ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • chess player
  • chess champion
  • chess master
  • chess club
  • chess coach

Phrases

  • game of chess
  • set of chess

Prepositions

  • at chess — used with 'good', 'bad', 'skilled' (e.g. good at chess)
  • in chess — used to describe something within the game (e.g. a common opening in chess)

Etymology

PersianArabicLatinOld FrenchEnglish

Chess comes from the Old French word 'esches' (plural of 'eschec', meaning 'check'), which came from the Latin 'scaccus', borrowed from the Persian word 'shah', meaning 'king' — because the goal of the game is to capture the opponent's king. The game itself started in India more than 1,500 years ago, where it was called 'chaturanga', a Sanskrit word for the four parts of an army (elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers), which later became the bishop, knight, rook, and pawn.