A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

CHESS

Mon, 2 Oct '23
Game ending in "mate"
Thu, 15 Jun '23
"A foolish expedient for making idle people believe they are doing something very clever, when they are only wasting their time," per Shaw
Sun, 22 May '22
It has thousands of openings
Mon, 21 Feb '22
"The Queen's Gambit" game
Wed, 5 Jan '22
The mating game?
Fri, 24 Dec '21
"The gymnasium of the mind," per Blaise Pascal
Sat, 14 Aug '21
Game of checkers?