Why do you play chess?

You can never recreate the pride you get after playing a beautiful chess game. Just think about it. That game is yours. The one gem you produced out of a sea of infinite possibilities. It was mind-numbing to me as a kid!

Chess simply makes you think unlike other games, mostly because the rules are, at the end of the day, so simple, you are left only to your brain to unravel How you should actually play the particular game in front of you. No chance involved, no luck... aside from what you allow to be a factor.

It's called competition. I play to compare myself to other people and learn new things while having fun. I know you wanted a papyrus where I explain why chess is good for you and stuff but that's it.

Well I love competitive sports. Chess is a competitive sport without blood. I play chess to win and when I lose, I try to learn from it so that I can crush him next time. All I want is winning(in real life as well) . It's as simple as that.

It's competitive, it is a prestigous game, good players have status, it's also a very attractive game.

#30 LDog11 "Why do we play chess?

Genetics"

A genetic predisposition to play chess?

Even if Ortega was wrong when he proclaimed that "Man has no nature- all he has, is history", the other side of the coin can not be ignored. Life is BOTH nature AND nurture. The groundwork or foundation in the gene pool will not sprout a chess player unless his environment waters the root.

Because I like when people get angry when they lose and start saying stup*d things..even high rating player does it...

#36 I agree Dionysus, (and quite poetically said) but all these things people are saying: competition, thinking, having fun, winning, (the thrill of victory) skill, learning, pride; (I like #31) they're all very human motivations that apply to kinds of endeavors. So, why don't we play basketball?

There's something about the skill set required to play chess that our genetic skill set fits into and makes us want to keep at it.

Your right though, if I hadn't found Lichess, I wouldn't be playing chess. So, I really love this site and participating in it.

#37 Very true because it showed that you had beaten them very badly. Enjoy it, sadist. Sorry but true, friend.

Chess is a glorious power struggle between two minds. Something about the way that two people, without saying a word, can sit and analyze the movements of 32 tiny pieces is awe inspiring.