Brave bishop, elderly (4)
I believe the answer is:
bold
'brave' is the definition.
('bold' can be similar in meaning to 'brave')
'bishop elderly' is the wordplay.
'bishop' becomes 'b' (abbreviation used in chess).
'elderly' becomes 'old' ('old' can be similar in meaning to 'elderly').
'b'+'old'='BOLD'
(Other definitions for bold that I've seen before include "No chicken" , "sort of face" , "Daring, maybe impudent" , "Like heavy type" , "Thick and heavy (type)" .)