On board, it gives duchesses heart (5)

I believe the answer is:

chess

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'on board it' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'duchesses heart' is the wordplay.
'heart' means to look at the middle letters.
The central letters of 'duchesses' are 'CHESS'.

'gives' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for chess that I've seen before include "Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus musical" , "Game involving mates" , "Musical - board game" , "A game of skill" , "Sixteen-men-a-side game" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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