The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 3 letter word CHESS SET
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
C
H
E
S
S
S
E
T
More clues leading to the result CHESS SET
- All pieces for playing with at five o’clock must go in box
- All men on board, in black and white?
- Given three seconds, revolutionary lefty oddly missing kings, queens, etc
- Playing pieces German forces Earl to put in box
- All it needs is the board to engage in battle of wits
- Musical group that’s needed for board meeting?
- Requirement to get men on board…
- Complete gathering of men for a board meeting
- All the men on board
- Box to hold two shillings and electronic board with 32 pieces
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "All it needs is the board to engage in battle of wits" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case all it needs is the board to engage in battle of wits = chess set.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.