A good friend of mine teaches at one of the schools in my district. He recently told me that he used to be infatuated by chess, but he forced himself to quit it because he was afraid that chess would swallow his life completely, kind of like an alcoholic abstaining from drinking, I guess.

This definitely made me view my own beginning obsession with the game in a new, more worrying light. I was hoping that you all could share any chess burnout stories or your thoughts on being too involved with the game.

You can become addicted to anything... alcohol, cigarettes... chess, politics... even exercise, dieting. Addictions are bad! Everything in moderation. :)

I've seen people burn out from playing too much chess, but more often from setting unrealistic goals like "I will gain x elo in y months." We don't control how many rating points we gain, we only control how hard and smart we work at it.

Since I rediscovered Chess nine months ago I am getting more and more obsessed by the game. But I am not getting so addicted that I can not stay one day without is, although I must admit that I just stayed one day without chess since november last year... But I do not set myself unrealistic goals like written above. What about a sportsman who trains himself everyday to get better or in form for the competition? I see it like that.