A bishop disgraced, having refused to take part (9)
I believe the answer is:
abstained
'refused to take part' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'a bishop disgraced' is the wordplay.
'bishop' becomes 'B' (abbreviation for bishop in chess).
'disgraced' becomes 'stained' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'a'+'b'+'stained'='ABSTAINED'
'having' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for abstained that I've seen before include "was non-committal" , "kept dry" , "chose not to vote" , "avoided port?" , "went on the wagon" .)