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Why do you play chess?

It doesn't pay much money unless you are say top 5 in the world, so why do you play.
Let's see who gives the best answer.
Because it is the only thing in life that you can actually keep your opponent in check.
I would say because it is a state of mind: finding best moves, improving, dealing with defeats and enjoying great victories. To me it is a way of being that helps me in "real life". I would add that when I am playing in competition and I am in time pressure or difficult positions I can see the real "me". In the end I find the game as a discovery of my true self.

Personally, I just love the thrill of losing a game I really should have won, but I got complacent and overconfident. Keeps me coming back.
I might be wrong but didn't we have a similar topic in the forum not so long ago.
For me it's the thrill of the hunt, I love taking down higher rated players when I get the chance. The more scalps the better. Also it is an escape, a form of meditation.
A good chess game is like a good movie. For a while, you forget everything else. I find chess relaxing.
It's easy to kill time and get your mind away from everything else with chess
I have a less common reason. I started out with tabletop wargaming. While I enjoy those games, and I enjoy the hobby aspects of tabletop wargaming (that is, painting and assembling miniatures), actually playing matches is very time-consuming; it's extremely difficult to get good at a game when it takes 3 hours minimum to play a small match. Further, I found it difficult to find opponents; the only other active wargamer I know is my brother, and it's hard to get two busy schedules to work out simultaneously.

So, I decided I'd get back into playing the granddaddy of all wargames; the games are much quicker, and opponents are far more numerous, solving both of the difficulties I was encountering with miniature wargaming.

But, I am just a filthy casual. I have little interest in actually becoming *good* at chess itself; to me, it's a way to have a bit of fun while sipping a vodka, and maybe-kinda-sorta building up some more general tactical reasoning skill that might help out in my miniatures wargames.

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