The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word CHESSMEN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
C
H
E
S
S
M
E
N
More clues leading to the result CHESSMEN
- Game fellows, 32 found on board
- Constituents of schemes with knight
- They may try to prevent mate coming on board
- Bishops and Knights, perhaps, formulate schemes before noon
- . Extraordinary scheme to capture second knight with pawns, say
- Socialist’s troops eating small pieces variously seen in this grid
- Knights, perhaps, caught defecting Nazi soldiers
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Knights, perhaps" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case knights, perhaps = chessmen.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.
What does CHESSMEN mean?
CHESSMEN noun- A chess piece.