Curt direction to restrict bishop's networks (4)
I believe the answer is:
webs
'networks' is the definition.
(I know this)
'curt direction to restrict bishop's' is the wordplay.
'curt direction' becomes 'wes' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'to restrict' means one lot of letters goes inside another (restrict can mean pen in or contain).
'bishop' becomes 'B' (chess abbreviation).
'wes' placed around 'b' is 'WEBS'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for webs that I've seen before include "Spiders' creations" , "delicate tissues" .)