---
title: chess — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «chess» in the school dictionary: Chess is a board game for two players with pieces like kings, queens, bishops, knights, rooks and pawns on a board of 64 squares. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/chess/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [C](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/) / chess

# chess

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Chess, aim, chessboard, 6 children, each, chess club · **What happens:** be, call, have, play, win, teach · **To what, where:** board game, king, 64 squares, chess, each, 12 members · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«chess» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 9 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [chess in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/chess.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Chess is a board game for two players with pieces like kings, queens, bishops, knights, rooks and pawns on a board of 64 squares.

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:m1:1
# text = Chess is a board game for two players with pieces like kings, queens, bishops, knights, rooks and pawns on a board of 64 squares.
1	Chess	chess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	players	player	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
9	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	pieces	piece	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	_
11	like	like	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	kings	king	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	queens	queen	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
16	bishops	bishop	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	knights	knight	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
20	rooks	rook	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	_
21	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
22	pawns	pawn	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	_
23	on	on	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
24	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
25	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	nmod	_	_
26	of	of	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
27	64	64	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	28	nummod	_	_
28	squares	square	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	25	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Chess | a board game |  |  |  | for two players with pieces like kings and queens and bishops and knights and rooks and pawns on a board of 64 squares | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The aim is to trap the other player's king, which is called checkmate.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:m2:1
# text = The aim is to trap the other player's king, which is called checkmate.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	aim	aim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	trap	trap	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	player	player	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux:pass	_	_
14	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	acl:relcl	_	_
15	checkmate	checkmate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the aim |  |  |  |  | trap *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **call** | present · passive |  | the other player's king |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The chessboard has 64 squares.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:x1:1
# text = The chessboard has 64 squares.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chessboard	chessboard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	64	64	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	squares	square	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the chessboard | 64 squares |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent square=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
6 children play chess, each plays each other once.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:x2:1
# text = 6 children play chess, each plays each other once.
1	6	6	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	play	play	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	chess	chess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	7	nsubj	_	_
7	plays	play	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
8	each	each	DET	DT	ExtPos=PRON|PronType=Rcp	7	obj	_	_
9	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	fixed	_	_
10	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | present | 6 children | chess |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chess=Theme |
| 2 | **play** | present | each | each |  |  |  | once *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent each=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The chess club has 12 members.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:x3:1
# text = The chess club has 12 members.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	chess	chess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	club	club	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	12	12	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	members	member	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the chess club | 12 members |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent member=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She won 5 chess games.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:x4:1
# text = She won 5 chess games.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	won	win	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	5	5	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
4	chess	chess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	games	game	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win** | past | She | 5 chess games |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent game=Eventuality |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My grandad taught me to play chess.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:x5:1
# text = My grandad taught me to play chess.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	grandad	grandad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	taught	teach	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	play	play	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
7	chess	chess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | past | My grandad |  | me |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent i=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **play** | to-infinitive | My grandad *not said here* | chess |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chess=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A knight in chess moves in an L shape.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:x6:1
# text = A knight in chess moves in an L shape.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	chess	chess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	moves	move	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	L	l	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	shape	shape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **move** | present | a knight in chess |  |  | a L shape |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme in shape=Trajectory |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each player starts with 16 chess pieces.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:x7:1
# text = Each player starts with 16 chess pieces.
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	player	player	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	starts	start	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	16	16	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
6	chess	chess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	pieces	piece	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **start** | present | each player |  |  |  |  | with 16 chess pieces | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V PP.subeventuality»: agent=Eventuality with piece=Subeventuality |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It's checkmate, I win!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:x8:1
# text = It's checkmate, I win!
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	checkmate	checkmate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	win	win	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | checkmate |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **win** | present | I | checkmate *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent checkmate=Eventuality |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
One day Mongan and Duv Laca were playing chess in their palace.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chess:x9:1
# text = One day Mongan and Duv Laca were playing chess in their palace.
1	One	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl:unmarked	_	_
3	Mongan	Mongan	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	Duv	Duv	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
6	Laca	Laca	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	flat	_	_
7	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	playing	play	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
9	chess	chess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	palace	palace	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | past · progressive | Mongan and Duv | chess |  | Mongan's palace | day |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chess=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [cherub](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cherub/)
- next →: [chessboard](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/chessboard/)
- ↑ back to [C in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/)