chessboard

chessboard — noun

1. a flat square object with 64 small squares in alternating light and dark colours

1.nounB1
Definition

a flat square object with 64 small squares in alternating light and dark colours that people use as the playing surface for chess

Example

Grandmother set up the chessboard on the kitchen table for our Sunday game.

set up + chessboard (collocation for preparing the board)

The wooden chessboard had small carved pieces standing on its squares.

Common collocations
  • set up a chessboard
  • on the chessboard
  • chessboard squares
  • chessboard pattern
Synonyms
  • checkerboard

    US English; same grid pattern but typically associated with checkers (draughts); sometimes used informally for chessboard

  • board

    much more general; needs context to refer to a chessboard

Grammar Patterns

a chessboard

on + possessive + chessboard

the chessboard

Usage Note

Often used with verbs that describe setting up or positioning the board before a game, such as set up and place. Can also act as a modifier in compound nouns like chessboard pattern or chessboard squares.

Common Mistakes

She bought a checkerboard to play chess.
She bought a chessboard to play chess.
A checkerboard is the same pattern but is the board for checkers/draughts, not chess.

Word family

  • chess
    nounA2
  • board
    nounA1
  • chess piece
    nounB1
  • chessman
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Chessboard, checkerboard, and game board all describe flat surfaces used for games, but their uses differ. A chessboard has exactly 64 squares in alternating colours and is the standard surface for chess. A checkerboard shares the same alternating grid pattern but is linked to checkers (draughts); in informal American English, the two terms sometimes overlap. Game board is a broader category covering the playing surface for any board game — chess, Monopoly, Scrabble, and others. For chess specifically, only chessboard is correct. For example, you wouldn't ask 'Could you pass the checkerboard?' when setting up a chess game — the other player would be confused.

game boardcheckerboardboard ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • set of chess pieces

Prepositions

Etymology

Old FrenchEnglish

Chessboard comes from the Old English words cēas (the game of chess) and bord (a flat piece of wood). The game name reached English through Old French esches, from the Arabic word shāh meaning 'king' (the central piece in chess). The word chessboard has referred to the game surface since the 14th century.