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Glite Dictionary
chess move

chess move

2 3.0
An action that moves a chess piece according to the game rules
  • noun
translation icon : movimiento de ajedrez
  • With each chess move, the tension in the room grew as both players focused intently.

Examples

  • Her father's eyes were half-hooded, a distant smile on his face, as if he were ruminating on a chess move.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Oh, by the way, you were right about that chess move.

    Red Heat (1988)

  • He was always one chess move ahead.

    Wanted (2008)

  • It's a chess move.

    The Lost City (2005)

  • Remember, Deep Blue 2 simply chose chess moves by calculating billions of possible consequences of future moves.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • He made an impressive chess move that surprised his opponent.

  • To win the game, she carefully strategized her next chess move.

Synonyms

move
vschess move
362 1.3

An action a player takes on their turn in a game

is narrower, about changing one board piece's position in a specific board game

How Good

power move
  • Informal
3 6.6
chess move
2 3.0
mistake
∞ 1.0
inaccuracy
24 4.9

Surface Forms

chess move singular
chess moves plural

Morphology

chess + move

The meaning 'an action in which a chess piece is moved' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'chess' (the game) with 'move' (an action/turn). This noun–noun composition is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common compound pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The noun chess move comes from the game of chess, where a player moves a piece on the board in a careful, planned way. Because each move can change the whole game, people use the phrase to mean a smart, strategic 'action' or 'decision' in real life.