Illustration of chess
- chessboard with chess pieces arranged as at the beginning of a game
: 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
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
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
As political tensions rise and personal crises unfold, a high-stakes diplomatic chess game emerges.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
Not that there aren’t similarities — there clearly are — but Naumov shouldn’t be dragged into an Olympic controversy as a chess piece in a debate over whataboutism.
—Steve Buckley, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
While our two rounds of scrimmaging yielded a whopping score of 0-0, the game itself felt accessible yet challenging, combining elements of shuffleboard, chess, skating and, yes, physics.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for chess
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Noun
This new Netflix documentary centers on Judit Polgár, the Hungarian schoolgirl and prodigious chess player who took on all comers.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
As political tensions rise and personal crises unfold, a high-stakes diplomatic chess game emerges.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
Not that there aren’t similarities — there clearly are — but Naumov shouldn’t be dragged into an Olympic controversy as a chess piece in a debate over whataboutism.
—Steve Buckley, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
While our two rounds of scrimmaging yielded a whopping score of 0-0, the game itself felt accessible yet challenging, combining elements of shuffleboard, chess, skating and, yes, physics.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for chess
Cite this Entry
“Chess.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chess. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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