I would like to put this issue to debate: Does chess cause obsession, the obsession that the game can eventually be mastered.  Alekhine said that one's life time is not enough to master chess, why trying to accomplish the impossible then?  Besides, do neurotic characters get more attracted to chess as chess can serve as a means to satisfy addictive urges?  Finally, does chess ultimately prove our 'will to power', the will to rule over others and keep them in one's control?

chess causes obssesion and good grades in math :)

If the time spent on chess is spent on maths study the results would be ten time at least better.  For example 10 hours spent on maths vs 10 hours spent on chess, which one leads to better results in maths grades?

Does chess cause obsession'

No. An inanimate thing can't cause something. Obsession is from within folk :)

aabbccdd

I can't do maths. I can work out my bus fares at a push. Also, I have nobody or system to grade me.

Chess has caused obsession for me in the past with the game itself. I lived to play chess. Chess was always on my subconscious. I could not stop thinking about chess. However, it did not give me a desire to rule over people. It did cause me to calculate every consequence of a decision, though, which would be a good thing.