What does chess mean to you?

If you were to ask a child this question, the obvious answer would either be 'winning' or 'doing something when you're bored.' But this question asks about you.

Assuming we are all over 12, we're NOT kids. So what do you think chess means?

If you want MY reply, just check out my profile. It's all in the description, along with a move that gets the computer NEARLY every time. For me anyway. Actually, there is a lot of if's and but's to that, but for me it works.

for me chess makes me think more logically. i also think more chess would have a positive impact on the world. do you think chess players are the kind of people to wear a hoodie with tracksuit bottoms with their hands in their pockets that hang about on street corners at night pedalling drugs? likely not.

Chess is an enjoyable activity that lets me improve my powers of concentration - and it has helped my 66 year-old head concentration and memory improve since I returned to chess in the last 6 months.

I enjoy my history in the game: cheering Bobby Fischer when he played, meeting Grandmasters (GM Leonid Shamkovich watched one of my OTB games - I was playing a pretty woman!), playing the game in rated competitions, coaching a high school team to multiple county championships and as high as 3rd in state, being a USCF Tournament Director, and playing online.

But let me note that chess is NOT everything: we should all trying to experience life in its fullest.  As my logo shows I love to play piano  - guitar as well.  I also enjoy bicycling - including being able to maintain and repair my bike, most athletics, history (I'm visiting the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in August), gardening and spending time with friends and relatives.

First of all is the raw, completely equal nature of the battle.  Chess is a game where no information is hidden by either player, from either player.  There is no hand of cards that you can see which your opponent cannot, and vice versa.  Everything is spelled out on the board for all to see, from the get-go to the bitter end.  There are no dice to roll, and so there is no random element to the game... there is only two minds and what they bring to the board.  And since there are no hidden secrets and no random factors, the only element of surprise is what one player fails to see while guessing what his opponent might do next.  Strip away all chaos, all secrets, and pit two players with equal forces on an equally symmetrical board, and you have no excuses to hide behind, no cries of unfairness or inequality... nothing, but two thought processes slugging it out in a perfect little world.  On these 64 squares, muscle cannot help you, nor can firepower, nor political influence, nor neighboring allies: both armies are equal.  There will be no reinforcements.  Help is not coming... not for you, and not for your opponent.  It is the purest form of battle, and therefore it is beautiful and it is perfect.

I got chills when I read this.

GISHMAK

For me, chess is just a game, like fifa.

Has anyone looked yet?

Hey, you're not the only one TatsumakiRonyk. I think everyone did.

It means nothing to me...its a puzzle like thingy for old people as well as childern to win and inflate their egoes or to lose and just feel darn foolish.Its fun to play though.Chess is a waste of time invented centuries back and continue to waste time today alike and will continue to the future till humans see their extinction.I guess thats it.

Now this is the best one right here! 

To me personally chess means control, concentration, and humility. It had taught me a lot about myself and has brought me to mental breaking points. I was the type of person to hate themselves for days over a silly insult, someone not rematching, or worse of all me losing a game because of how bad I played. It wasn't until recently that a few decent people have pointed out my mistakes in chess and my mentality that I have started to come to grips with my emotions. I can't say it is the biggest and greatest thing to ever happen to me I have had plenty rough patches in my life that have taught me harder lessons, but for a game I just took up as a hobby I didn't ever expect to find answers to mental questions about myself while I played it. Chess was a curse to me for a while but now it's a key I can use to watch how my mind reacts to losing and winning and it's a key to help me think more critically about the first thought that jumps in my head before making decisions.

it makes me more confident. also trains my brain. it also tells me what is my weakness