Why do you play chess?

FOR FUN

i just wanna learn it

For decades, I was certain that this game was reserved for an ultra-intelligent elite.
One day (2024) out of curiosity I bought a book (chess for dummies) (then others after) and a chess set (for children). Just to see if I had the intellectual capacity to understand. I watched (still today) educational videos - as a dilettante... and then in February 2025 I arrive on Lichess. I had to know more about the movements, the positions, the stakes... and I didn't yet imagine what chess really was!
I had a normal life before – now I'm looping on the chessboard (real or digital) – I'm relieved as soon as I can play –I made progress that I didn't imagine - but now I'm desperate as soon as I try a match against stockfish (level 3 !!!!) or against the players of the association I've been going to for a short time because I can't do it = Null and void : I totally panic. But why?

Why do I play chess? for fun first of all ! and since I really started in February 2025 I have been at peace: the landmarks of the chessboard, the stories that will be created, the control of my impulsiveness, the hindsight on various subjects to allow more constructive reflections etc... And even this despair of not being able to go further in chess is not dramatic. Maybe it was true: chess is accessible to an ultra-intelligent elite.

Because the chess community is more supportive of people who like brain games.

The game I really wanted to learn last year was bridge, but modern bridge has become super-complicated. It did not take learn for me to conclude that both the bridge playing and bridge teaching community want nothing to do with you unless you're at least 70 years old and retired; they insist on the image of bridge being an old person's game.

By contrast I had dabbled in chess a couple of times before without really knowing what I was doing...the closest I came was the XBox version of Chessmaster. But it occurred to me that chess could be a safety net if bridge didn't work out.

I don't play nearly as often as I potentially could, partly because of fear of addiction. But when I do play the game offers some moments of solace, win or lose, in a world that has gone crazy. Those moments of solace are more valuable than platinum to me.

i play chess because its fun and it can make kids smart and kids can learn a lot of openings

@Ethan5772 said in #15:

i play chess because its fun and it can make kids smart and kids can learn a lot of openings
Yeah

for money

I play because why not?

Chess is among the only games ( possibly the only ) that reveals the true extent of human intelligence - how our surroundings and timing make a difference in our decisons, just how time consuming it is to think, calculate and evaluate, how much toll it takes our bodies to simply think, etc.

Unfortunately, it is also the worst part of the game. Because chess is so cerebral, it is extremely frustrating to lose a game... and so is the reason I quit originally a few years back. With time on my wrist, I figured giving it a restart and seeing if I can catch up to my past rating. Maybe I'll even go beyond... But I'm happy enough just beating my friends ^_^

i play chess because my dad doesnt think that i can really play chess frfr and i want to prove him wrong
BECAUSE WHY NOT??

i also like playing chess because its fun! i like doing puzzles and improving my rating and seeing more wins than losses
IF YOU SAY YOU LIKE LOSING MORE THAN YOU LIKE WINNING THEN IDK WHAT TO TELL YOU

but also because ive been playing chess for a very long time and i just dont want to stop because usually when i stop doing something i never do it again lmao