Why do you play chess?

A big point is, that I enjoy creating tactics. For me, chess often feels like bitter irony and I love irony.

Because chess is art... not always, but in some games I observe my creation for some seconds like a job well done, like a piece of painting or sculpture. Not hard understand why I also like computer programming, the feeling after finishing a game I created myself is as incredible as a combination in chess!

I good chess game is like a movie

im an avid video gamer, and chess actually checks a lot of the same boxes.

you could describe chess as a 'free to play multiplayer PVP tactics game with puzzle elements'. there are tons of games on the PC/phone market that fit this general description, but most of them are either paid, are pay 2 win/pay to advance, etc general cash shenanigans, whereas chess is free.

also many of those game developers realize many people play games for fun, casually, not to strictly try to be good at them. as such, many games introduce varying levels of randomness to help level the playing field for low skill players. dice rolls, random chances, scatter dice, %'s, accuracy tables, etc. it makes it easy for bad players to just blame the dice.

obviously chess has no RNG, no hidden cards, its a game of perfect information...if you lose, you lose, and its your fault. the other guy was better. chess is really unforgiving in that way, but if you can get over the idea that losses happen and its ok to not win all the time, its also very rewarding. it means that your wins were also not luck or chance, and this time you were the better guy. when you win, you really won! it was you. YOU did it. feelsgoodman! it really is an awesome feeling isn't it?

I mean, who doesn't smile when they give checkmate, eh? on some level, isnt that why we all play?

aside from this, I really believe in the phrase, "use it or lose it". im not old, but someday I will be, we all will be, its unavoidable. I really hate to see elderly who seem to have lost much of their cognitive (and physical) ability. I cant say that playing chess is objectively a surefire preventative measure against these conditions, but think common sense would tell us that mental exercise, as chess offers, is surely a positive thing, and in some cases at least, may keep us sharper for a little longer. it definitely cant hurt.

Chess is a kind of language and the game of chess is like a conversation... it's better than talking about the weather.

我下国际象棋因为我爱国际象棋。

I play chess because, with very few exceptions, our success depend upon our previous preparation and good attitude during the game.

I play chess because I can lose myself in the pursuit of the perfect move - in the pursuit of perfection.

I know I will not attain perfection - far from it - I'm not even remotely close, but the process of trying, thinking, and examining the possibilities leads me into a calm place - where I can switch off the sometimes chaotic world I'm surrounded by and focus on one simple, yet paradoxically complex, thing. My next move.

I play chess to challenge myself. I play chess to question myself. I play chess to humble myself.

I play chess because it is there.

Boredom, and to feel like I cheat my boss who is paying for time I am not working but actually playing chess.

I think I play chess because in chess we can better discover ourselves as human beings. Chess has all the charm of the mysteries accumulated by humanity for centuries.