Chess (ch&ebreve_;s), n. [OE. ches, F. échecs, prop. pl. of échec check. See 1st Check.] A game played on a chessboard, by two persons, with two differently colored sets of men, sixteen in each set. Each player has a king, a queen, two bishops, two knights, two castles or rooks, and eight pawns.
[1913 Webster]