What's your top reason for playing chess?

[Kevin Pacey]

This is a poll that asks respondents to choose their top reason as to why they like to play chess. Regrettably I am limited to ten choices for possible answers to a chesstalk poll, so I have slightly merged some similar reasons into single choices.

[Lucas Davies]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

Just for fun. :P

[Ben Daswani]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

pretty much solely for bughouse side events

[Hal Bond]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

Great questions Kevin. I play for the sport and the beauty of the combinations, but I teach it to kids for quite another reason. I think chess can be used to impart many useful live lessons and skills.

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

It seems this poll can't be too bad since so far it's getting above a 10% response rate from those who view, which to me seems about the average for chesstalk polls.

There also seems to be a clear trend for the large majority to be split between the two choices of the sporting vs. artistic aspect of the game as their top reason for playing chess.

Maybe the results of the poll will help any CFC efforts meant to promote the game, though I know I am being optimistic :).

[Alex Ferreira]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

It's a hard choice since all are interesting, but in the end, what I do more probably is to socialize, and so answered that. The plan is to travel more and further to play in tournaments now, attaching real vacations to it :)

Alex F.

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

One day I overheard an older player saying that he liked the arguments in the post mortems, so I included that under the 'Room for disagreement' choice.

The first reason I was attracted to chess was simply the beauty of the pieces on the chessboard, so I put that as an option. The novelty of this form of chess beauty faded, but it remains a minor reason why I like the game. It surfaces in a big way when I see a decorative chess set (i.e. non-Staunton design). Over the years when I go into some peoples' homes I notice that sometimes they have decorative chess sets on their coffeetables. These are not just competitive chessplayers, but everyday people.

I included playing for prizes as a reason in case there is someone who is quite successful in this regard, or if they still hope to be so...I felt it was worth identifying this reason seperately from playing for the sporting aspect of the game.

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

Just for fun. :P

So, chess is an amusing pastime in other words?

That may beg the question though. Above all, what makes chess fun for you?

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

pretty much solely for bughouse side events

So, is it that you can't find many games of bughouse (aka double or Siamese chess?!) of whatever quality that you enjoy, outside of before or after the rounds of the normal chess events in which you play in anyway?

Or is it that you have lots of quality bughouse chess in your area, outside of normal chess events, but you can't get enough of bughouse?

[Jason Lohner]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

I enjoy it because there is no luck involved. You win/lose/draw solely on your own ability to make good moves. This is the #1 reason why I don't play any card games or games involving dice.

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

Hmmm

Well, I think there's something to it when people wish each other good luck before their chess games ;).

[Mike Stanford]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

escapism..

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: What's your top reason for playing chess?

escapism..

That might be another way of saying that chess is an absorbing pastime or form of entertainment, which might lead again to the question of what is it that makes it so...

I once thought of having chess as a theme park/resort idea, with Alice in Wonderland playsets for the kids, audio/video study material available for rooms, Simuls and lessons by employed house GMs, swimming pools with floating chess sets, ballrooms with chess decor for couples to dance in, cinemas with chess related movies, chess TV programs, machines that play chess for quarters...then I got no response on chess message boards whatsoever for the idea. I thought the idea must have been an overdose of a good thing, but later I heard there have been chess resorts in the world, and there have even been cruises with GMs on board giving lessons, simuls and socializing...