ANSWERS: Chess Words 7

It's been roughly two weeks since "Chess Words 7" was posted on this blog, and it proved to be quite a toughie, since only fourteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Okieboy2008
• Sam Levitin
• Michael Lebowitz
• Chris Kochmanski
• Wendy Walker
• Derek Allen
• Steve Gunter
• Mom
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #613: Chess Words 7

PUZZLE #613

CHESS WORDS 7

This puzzle type was suggested by Patron Grant Fikes. Normally, you can suggest a puzzle type of your own choice over on my Patreon page, but both slots are still full, so you might have to resort to PayPal if you still want to make a request of your own.

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard, all of which are the answers to the provided clues. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:

King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Once all the words have been found, pick two of the words and combine them to get the FINAL ANSWER: a fictional item from comic books

  Queen's Rook: F _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: P _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: W _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: G _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: E _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: H _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: S _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: I _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES

• Bodybuilder’s build

• Dirty rotten scoundrel

• Four-player arcade game from the mid-’80s

• Multi-platinum Journey album with "Wheel in the Sky"

• Poisonous purple (or pink) flowering plant

• Suitable for those with sophisticated tastes

• Welcomed with open arms (or hugged with closed arms)

• Word in the name of Sesame Street's production company

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Chess Words 6

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Chess Words 6" was posted on this blog, and quite a few people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Marie desJardins
• Cindy Heisler
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• J&J
• Okieboy2008
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Derek Allen
• Chris Kochmanski
• Mom
• Wendy Walker
• Lynn Sweeney
• KeoFam
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #556: Chess Words 6

PUZZLE #556

CHESS WORDS 6

This puzzle (suggested by Patron Grant Fikes) contains a word or phrase suggested by Patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at $15 or more per month to suggest one word or phrase for me to put into a puzzle every month!

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard, all of which are the answers to the provided clues. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:

King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Once all the words have been found, pick two of the words and combine them to get the FINAL ANSWER: a multi-platinum album from the 1970s

  Queen's Rook: O _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: B _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: E _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: M _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: A _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: P _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: C _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: G _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES

• Body part or book part

• Caught up with, then passed

• Grammy-winning music video by Olivia Newton-John

• Knightly vegetable that you play as in Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom

• Newspaper comic magician who turned 90 in 2024

• Part of Wyoming's state nickname

• Tubes used for shooting poison darts

• Writings on the wall?

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Chess Words 5

It's been almost two weeks since "Chess Words 5" was posted on this blog, and eighteen people have solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cathy Bowen
• Cindy Heisler
• Pavel Curtis
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Sam Levitin
• Michael Lebowitz
• Stasi Gustafson
• Derek Allen
• Mom
• Chris Kochmanski
• Tamara Brenner
• KeoFam
• Josie Giles
• Lynn Sweeney
• Wendy Walker
• Steve Gunter

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #514: Chess Words 5

PUZZLE #514

CHESS WORDS 5

This puzzle type was suggested by Patron Grant Fikes. Normally, you can suggest a puzzle type of your own choice over on my Patreon page, but both slots are full at the moment, so you might have to resort to PayPal if you still want to make a request of your own.

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard, all of which are the answers to the provided clues. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:

King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Once all the words have been found, read down the last letter of each filled-in word, in order, to get the FINAL ANSWER: an 8-letter word

  Queen's Rook: T _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: F _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: O _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: J _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: L _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: E _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: H _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: C _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES
• Brazilian martial art that one may grapple with?

• Commit fraud

• Element with a single-digit atomic number

• Group of three achievements

• Joey who ate 83 hot dogs in ten minutes in a 2024 Netflix special

• Like tepid tap water

• Sticky snare for some insects

• Way too lengthy, as a speech

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Chess Words 4

It's been about two weeks since "Chess Words 4" was posted on this blog. I personally view it as one of the more difficult puzzle types that I do for this blog, but this particular one got a record-high of seventeen people!

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Pavel Curtis
• Joe Bernard
• Kevin Orfield
• Mike Armstrong
• Josie Giles
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Tamara Brenner
• KeoFam
• Tower
• Wendy Walker
• Mom
• Chris Kochmanski
• Steve Gunter
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #478: Chess Words 4

PUZZLE #478

CHESS WORDS 4

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard, all of which are the answers to the provided clues. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:

King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Once all the words have been found, read down the last letter of each filled-in word, in order, to get the FINAL ANSWER: an 8-letter word

  Queen's Rook: B _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: G _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: L _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: P _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: S _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: M _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: T _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: H _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES
• Bothersome bloodsucker

• Dessert whose name is Italian for "pick me up"

• Fall guy who's miles high

• Goliath, Brooklyn, or Demona from a ‘90s Disney series, say

• Noontime container

• One way to cause a trance

• Paper tract

• Trendy (yet meaningless) business term

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Chess Words 3

Roughly two weeks have gone by since "Chess Words 3" was posted on this blog, which means that it's time for me to reveal the list of everyone who has solved it since then:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Chris Kochmanski
• Kevin Orfield
• Tyler Hinman
• Mike Armstrong
• Michael Lebowitz
• Sam Levitin
• Wendy Walker
• Steve Gunter
• Mom
• Lynn Sweeney
• Tamara Brenner
• Perry Groot

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #435: Chess Words 3

PUZZLE #435

CHESS WORDS 3

This puzzle contains a word suggested by Patron M. Sean Molley. Support me on Patreon at $15 or more per month to suggest one word or phrase for me to put into a puzzle every month!

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard, all of which are the answers to the provided clues. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:

King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Once all the words have been found, read down the last letter of each filled-in word, in order, to get the FINAL ANSWER: an 8-letter word

  Queen's Rook: D _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: P _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: S _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: A _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: C _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: T _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: E _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: H _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES
• Certain search engine's parent company

• Football team with exactly one Super Bowl win

• Huger than huge

• Japanese sauce

• Problem in geometry class

• Reading-impaired, like Percy Jackson

• Shadow from a 2005 Sega video game, for one

• Site that serves slices

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Chess Words 2

It's been thirteen days since "Chess Words 2" was posted on this blog, and thirteen is also the number of people that have solved it, all of whom are listed below:

• Grant Fikes
• Cindy Heisler
• Kevin Orfield
• Sam Levitin
• Al Sisti
• Tamara Brenner
• Stephen Potter
• Tyler Hinman
• Peter Abide
• Mindy Moore
• Mom
• Wendy Walker
• Lynn Sweeney

Now head below the break for the answers!

PUZZLE #363: Chess Words 2

PUZZLE #363

CHESS WORDS 2

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard, all of which are the answers to the provided clues. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:

King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Once all the words have been found, pick two of the words and combine them to get the FINAL ANSWER: a common two-word phrase

  Queen's Rook: Q _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: W _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: P _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: S _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: M _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: K _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: F _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: C _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES
• 2003 Ben Affleck movie

• _____ bag

• Brew up an intricate plot

• Coins that were formerly 90% silver

• Guppies' glass home

• Provide a much-needed kick in the butt, perhaps

• Red echidna created by Sega

• Suppress

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or even ask for a hint, though you'll be marked as having used one if you do so) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a link to a .PDF version which you can print out!

ANSWERS: Chess Words

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! On an unrelated note, I personally thought that my first "Chess Words" puzzle from about two weeks ago was a toughie, but that didn't stop nine of you from successfully solving it:

• Grant Fikes ****
• Kevin Orfield ****
• Sam Levitin ****
• Stephen Potter ****
• Mom ****
• Cindy Heisler ****
• Tyler Hinman ****
• Lynn Sweeney ***
• Eric Maddy ****

Now head below the break for the answers as well as a few solver comments!

JA-NEW-ARY! PUZZLE #266: Chess Words

JA-NEW-ARY!

PUZZLE #266

CHESS WORDS

Okay, including this puzzle type for this theme month might be considered cheating, considering that I had already made a "Chess Words" puzzle as a Patreon-exclusive, but I did say that every puzzle slated to be posted this month will be all-new to this blog, so I'm gonna abuse semantics and say it still counts. Now, this is a pretty tough puzzle type in my opinion, so I added some clues to it in order to hopefully make it easier, even if just a little bit. I hope it helps!

Eight 8-letter words are scrambled on the chessboard, all of which are the answers to the provided clues. Each chess piece starts on the first letter of one of the words, and can be moved across the board via standard chess moves to spell the rest of the word. Every square is used exactly once. The chess pieces move as follows:

King: one space in any of the eight directions
Rook: any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction
Bishop: any number of spaces in a diagonal direction
Queen: any number of spaces in any of the eight directions
Knight: two spaces in a horizontal or vertical direction and then one space in a perpendicular direction

Once all the words have been found, pick two of the words and combine them to get the FINAL ANSWER: a common two-word phrase

  Queen's Rook: E _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                a1 
Queen's Knight: P _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                b1 
Queen's Bishop: W _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                c1 
         Queen: G _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                d1 
          King: K _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                e1 
 King's Bishop: S _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                f1 
 King's Knight: M _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                g1 
   King's Rook: D _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                h1

CLUES
• Collegians
• Handy form of theater?
• In a very religious way
• Oscar-winning J. K. Simmons film
• Raccoon relative
• Redheaded X-Men character
• Sports field
• Trade

Once you believe you've figured out the FINAL ANSWER, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for two versions you can print out: a .PNG and a link to a .PDF!