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Chess

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chess

1[ches]
–noun
a game played by two persons, each with 16 pieces, on a chessboard.

Origin:
1150–1200; ME < OF esches, pl. of eschec check 1

chess

2[ches]
–noun, plural chess, chess⋅es.
one of the planks forming the roadway of a floating bridge.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME ches tier, layer < ?

brome⋅grass

[brohm-gras, -grahs]
–noun
any of numerous grasses of the genus Bromus, having flat blades and open clusters of flower spikelets.
Also called brome [brohm] , chess.


Origin:
1750–60; < NL Brom(us) genus name (< Gk brómos oats) + grass
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Chess
chess 1   (chěs)   
n.  A board game for two players, each beginning with 16 pieces of six kinds that are moved according to individual rules, with the objective of checkmating the opposing king.

[Middle English ches, short for Old French esches, pl. of eschec, check in chess; see check.]
chess 2   (chěs)   
n.  Any of several species of brome grass, especially the cheat.

[Origin unknown.]
chess 3   (chěs)   
n.   pl. chess or chess·es
One of the floorboards of a pontoon bridge.

[Middle English ches, tier, perhaps from Old French chasse, frame, from Latin capsa, box.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

chess 
13c., from O.Fr. esches pl. of eschec (see check), from the key move of the game. The original word for "chess" is Skt. chaturanga "four members of an army" -- elephants, horses, chariots, foot soldiers. This is preserved in Sp. ajedrez, from Arabic (al) shat-ranj, from Pers. chatrang, from the Skt. word.
"The chess pieces are the block alphabet which shapes thoughts; and these thoughts, although making a visual design on the chessboard, express their beauty abstractly, like a poem." [Marcel Duchamp]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

chess games
A two-player game with perfect information.
Usenet newsgroup: rec.games.chess.
See also Internet Chess Server.
(1995-03-25)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
CHESS
Community Health and Environmental Surveillance System
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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