Chessy Words

Edward Winter

• Chessay: Subtitle of the book Not Only Chess, ‘A Selection of Chessays’ by G. Abrahams (1974).

• Chessdom: ‘The British Chess Association Problem Tourney Committee bids fair to be the best abused body in Chessdom.’ City of London Chess Magazine, October 1874, page 209.

• Chesser: ‘English chessers, to use the American word, for which we seem to have no good substitute, … ought certainly to subscribe to this capital monthly.’ City of London Chess Magazine, May 1875, page 105.

• Chessercize: In 1991 Bruce Pandolfini wrote two books, Chessercizes and More Chessercizes.

• Chessiana: ‘From The Road to Music by Nicolas Slonimsky (Dodd, Mead and Company) we find a curious bit of chessiana.’ Chess Review, June 1950, page 162.

• Chessic: Isidor Gunsberg in Knowledge, 1883. [Exact citation sought.]

• Chessical: ‘They are, in fact, so many chessical gradgrinds.’ A.F. Mackenzie, Jamaica Gleaner, 1900. See C.N. 5347.

• Chessically: ‘With names so influential, both socially and chessically, as the above ...’ City of London Chess Magazine, August 1874, page 161.

• Chessie: ‘... his many chessie friends.’ Chess Weekly, 17 July 1909, page 60.

• Chessikin: ‘A chessikin played in the contest for the Club and Institute Union Trophy ...’ City of London Chess Magazine, October 1875, page 285.

• Chessing: ‘… such terms as chessy, chessist, chessing and caïssic are revolting hybrids. Chess jargon and clichés can be bad enough without resorting to such vulgarisms.’ D.J. Morgan on page 334 of the December 1953 BCM.

• Chessist: ‘A Boston paper calls an editor a “writist”, a New Hampshire paper speaks of a “hair cuttist” and a Pennsylvania paper styles Paul Morphy as “a chessist”’. Brooklyn Eagle, 5 October 1868, page 1.

• Chessite: ‘The airs of superiority the chessites assume over us poor backgammonists.’ New Monthly Magazine, 1834.

• Chesslet: ‘Chesslets’ was the title of brief compilations of quotes in Lasker’s Chess Magazine, December 1904, page 81, and January 1905, page 126. J. Schumer published a small book entitled Chesslets in 1928.

• Chessmanity: ‘He will have some claim to be regarded as a benefactor to “chessmanity”.’ F.P. Wildman, BCM, December 1901, page 497.

• Chessner: ‘Yonder’s my game, which, like a politic chessner, I must not seeme to see.’ T. Middleton’s Game at Chesse (1624).

• Chessnicdote: Chessnicdotes I and Chessnicdotes II: titles of books by G. Koltanowski (1978 and 1981).

• Chessomania: ‘a pathological craving for chess to the virtual exclusion of all other activities and concerns.’ Page 65 of An illustrated Dictionary of Chess by Edward R. Brace (1977).

• Chessophile: ‘[Ray] Kennedy himself has been a chessophile since the age of nine ...’ Ralph P. Davidson, Time, 31 July 1972, page 2.

• Chessophobe: ‘The base calumny industriously spread by “chessophobes” (to coin a word) should be silent in face of these facts.’ P.H. Williams, American Chess Bulletin, February 1911, page 26.

• Chessophrenetic: ‘(nonce term) a chess fanatic.’ Page 65 of An illustrated Dictionary of Chess by Edward R. Brace (1977).

• Chesspearean: ‘The brutal plot of this Chesspearean tragedy culminates in banishment of the lady.’ Page 40 of The Personality of Chess by I.A. Horowitz and P.L. Rothenberg (New York, 1963).

• Chesspool: ‘... that monthly chesspool’. Description of The Westminster Papers in the August 1888 International Chess Magazine, page 236.

• Chesstapo: Title of a poem (a Mikado parody) by F.J. Whitmarsh on page 28 of the February 1944 BCM.

• Chess-ty: ‘The champion’s “chess-ty” physical make-up is not that of the popular conception of a chess-player.’ C. Sherwood, writing about Alekhine in the Los Angeles Times. The item was quoted on page 96 of the May-June 1929 American Chess Bulletin.

• Chessy: ‘Q to Kt7 would have been more chessy.’ I. Gunsberg in Knowledge, 15 June 1883.

Acknowledgment for the ‘chessist’ quote to Christian Sánchez (Rosario, Argentina) and for the ‘chessophile’ one to Mark McCullagh (Belfast, Northern Ireland). Information on earlier instances of any of the above words will be gratefully received, as will citations for similar words.

Latest update: 10 May 2008

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