Friend moans about the early starts (4)
I believe the answer is:
mate
'friend' is the definition.
(I know that mate is a type of friend)
'moans about the early starts' is the wordplay.
'starts' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letters of 'moans about the early' is 'MATE'.
(Other definitions for mate that I've seen before include "Finish game" , "Friend; chess ending" , "Pal, chum" , "Team (anag.)" , "Final check at chess" .)