Crossword Genius

The mating game (5,5)

Ross

I think it could be either:

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5

5,5

chess match

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'the' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'mating game' is the wordplay.
'mating' becomes 'chess' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'game' becomes 'match' (eg a football match).
'chess'+'match'='CHESS MATCH'

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I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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