Chess is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
- Jamar Chess, American music manager
- Leonard Chess, record company executive
- Lisa Chess, American actress
- Marshall Chess (born 1942), American record producer
- Mary Chess, perfumer
- Phil Chess (1921–2016), American record producer
- Richard Chess (poet) (born 1953), American poet
- Richard B. Chess, American politician
- Stanley Chess, American legal commentator
- Stella Chess, American child psychiatrist