chess

Etymology 1

From Middle English ches, chesse, from Old French eschés, plural of eschec, from Medieval Latin scaccus, from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king [in chess]”), from Classical Persian شاه (šāh, “shah, king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /⁠xšāyaθiya⁠/). Compare German Schach and Italian scacchi. Compare French échecs (“chess”) and its descendants: Catalan escacs and Dutch schaak. More at check and shah (“king of Persia or Iran”).

noun

1. A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.

Etymology 2

Uncertain; perhaps linked to Etymology 1, above, from the sense of being arranged in rows or lines.

noun

1. (now chiefly US) Any of several species of grass in the genus Bromus, generally considered weeds.
   Hobbled, loudly gourmandizing the dry chess grass, they were guarded by a pair of dismounted soldiers in long, dusty coats …. 2007, Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road, Sceptre, published 2008, page 59

Etymology 3

Compare French châssis (“a framework of carpentry”).

noun

1. (military, chiefly in the plural) One of the platforms, consisting of two or more planks dowelled together, for the flooring of a temporary military bridge.
   the balks are laid and covered with chesses to within 1 foot of the trestle 1881, Thomas Wilhelm, A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
   ach chess consists of three planks. 1885, Edward S. Farrow, Farrow's Military Encyclopedia; A Dictionary of Military Knowledge