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chess match

chess match

4 2.3
A formal game between two chess players, often in a competition
  • noun
  • /tʃɛs mætʃ/
translation icon : partido de ajedrez
  • While watching the chess match on television, I learned new tactics from the expert commentators.

Well, you had this, this, this, this winner takes all approach to a, to a chess match between then Soviet Union and the United States.

Examples

  • Our dads have been playing this chess match off and on since 1972.

  • And the chess match continues.

  • Remember it's a chess match for Charlie.

    Blog text (25)
  • It's going to be a chess match.

    Blog text (20)
  • This will be a chess match, and in the end, I think UGA will emerge as the winner of this game.

    Blog text (26)
  • This was a chess match, and Reagan was masterful at setting the tempo.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Vitaly Neimer (left) faces off with an opponent during a chess match.

    Blog text (22)
  • The grandmaster prepared for the championship chess match by studying his opponent's previous games.

  • After several hours of intense strategy, the chess match ended with a stunning checkmate.

Synonyms

game
vschess match
1.0

One part of a match in sports, played to win points

is a specific formal contest between two players in tournaments
match
vschess match
517 1.4

A game in which two teams or players compete

is limited to contests on the board where players try to checkmate
chess game
vschess match
11 2.0

A board game for two players who move pieces to trap the other player's king so it cannot move

is a formal contest in tournaments between two players rather than casual play

How Formal

championship
617 2.5
tournament
745 1.8
chess match
4 2.3
casual
19 2.8

Surface Forms

chess match singular
chess matches plural

Morphology

chess + match

The meaning 'a contest of chess played between opponents' is directly derived from combining 'chess' (the game) with 'match' (a contest). This compositional interpretation follows standard noun + noun phrase patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand it.

Etymology

The name chess match comes from bringing two players together to compete: chess is the board game and match means a paired contest. So imagine two opponents at one board trying to win move by move, and you can remember that a chess match is a formal 'game' between two players.