The royal game of strategy
Chess has been played for over a thousand years, and this word search gathers it. You'll be finding all six pieces — the KING and QUEEN, the ROOK, BISHOP and KNIGHT, and the humble PAWN — lined up on the BOARD, ready for battle.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the board changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a longer match once the diagonals and backwards words appear on Hard.
From opening to endgame
A game of chess is all about clever thinking, and the words are here. Each PLAYER makes a MOVE on their SQUARE, tries to CAPTURE the other's pieces, and plans a winning STRATEGY. You can CASTLE your king to safety, play a daring GAMBIT in the OPENING, use sharp TACTICS in the middle, and make a clever SACRIFICE. The aim is CHECKMATE — but if neither side can win, it's a STALEMATE. Master the ENDGAME and you might win the TOURNAMENT, while a good defence helps you DEFEND every attack.
A 1,500-year-old battle of minds
Chess grew from a game invented in India around 1,500 years ago, spreading along trade routes and slowly changing into the game we play today — which is why each of the six pieces moves in its own special way, like soldiers of an old army. The QUEEN is the most powerful piece on the board, free to glide any distance in any direction, while the KING, the one piece you can never lose, can only shuffle one square at a time. The whole game is a race to trap the enemy king, with no way to escape: that's CHECKMATE.
What makes chess so loved is that it's pure thinking — there's no luck, no dice, just two minds planning ahead. Good players think several MOVEs in advance, weighing whether to CAPTURE a piece or set a trap, and sometimes even make a SACRIFICE, giving up a piece on purpose to win something better. The number of possible games is mind-bogglingly huge — far more than the atoms in the universe — so almost every match you play is brand new. That depth makes chess a brilliant fit for a chess club or a strategy topic.
Great for a chess club
It's a great fit for a chess club or strategy topic — Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use Make Your Own to build a grid from your own chess words.
Frequently asked questions
What's in the Chess word search?
The game of chess — the king, queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn, the board and squares, plus moves and ideas like castling, capture, the gambit, checkmate, stalemate, tactics and strategy. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
Does it cover the pieces and the play?
It does — all six pieces (KING, QUEEN, ROOK, BISHOP, KNIGHT and PAWN) on the BOARD, plus moves and ideas like CASTLING, CAPTURE, the GAMBIT, CHECKMATE, STALEMATE, TACTICS and STRATEGY.
Is it good for a chess club?
Great fit for a chess club or strategy topic. Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words.