Pattern spoils clothing man put on board (8)

I believe the answer is:

markings

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'pattern' is the definition.
(I know this)

'spoils clothing man put on board' is the wordplay.
'spoils' becomes 'mars' ('mar' can be a synonym of 'spoil').
'clothing' indicates putting letters inside (some letters cover up or clothe others).
'man' becomes 'k' (abbreviation for king, a chess man).
'put on board' becomes 'ing' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'k'+'ing'='king'
'mars' placed around 'king' is 'MARKINGS'.

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