The argument for professional chess being illegal

There has been a recent forum post about how chess has ruined one's life, and while browsing that thread, I have notice some very interesting points:

1. Many people believe chess is a waste of time, which there is some good arguments that may strengthen this point, but I'm not going to argue this either way.

2. There have been a number of people, myself included, that have admitted to getting violent tendencies due to their chess life. It seems that if chess has negatively effected their brains such in the way of Fischer, that caused them to go insane. 

3. Chess has been linked to one of the most violent serial killers in russian history, Alexander Pichushkin. He was known as the chessboard killer, he was famous for wanting to kill 64 people, the same amount of squares on a chessboard, and was himself a chess player. He was also known for saying that without murder, he couldn't live. that he murders people in order to live, and a life without murder isn't a life at all. Believe it or not, this is a mentality most chess players have developed and it is very dangerous. 

4. At the top level, chess is your life. Sure Magnus Carlsen might be in shape, active, and happy...but for how long? Soon the amount of stress that he will encounter will be too much for his mind, he will get older and less active, and what will he have to take his mind off chess? Absolutely nothing. He will also develop into a violent murderer. Not all chess players are murderers, but there have been many cases in chess players acting out like madmen, which in extreme cases may lead to someone getting killed. 

5. In conclusion, chess is a very interesting game, but it is dangerous to society. With the promotion of chess, we are essentially promoting insanity and violence, which is ironic because most people who start studying chess are anything but that. They are peaceful people who are looking for a game of strategy to occupy themselves with, something of interest that is rich in ideas. Chess was their answer, but the answer didn't last...the answer was tainted with poison. Soon at the end of our lives, we will die insufferable messes if we play chess and promote it. Imagine a world where everyone was a chessplayer and were playing the game as a hobby. We would be a world of soul-less zombies, devoting time to a hobby that slowly kills our motivation for happiness. The top players must be stopped. They are the purest form of evil  that this world has ever known, and they must be stopped. They have been infected so ferociously by this chess-loving virus that while they don't know they are  turning into insane murderous freaks, they are promoting the same behavior to innocent CHILDREN! There is such a thing as SCHOLASTIC chess nowadays. Terrible.. These were just my two cents. 

Best regards, lolurspammed. (: 

That's a lot of text to type for an obvious troll post!

+2 for effort and stamina. Kudos!

Obviously you never looked at the amount of chessplayers that went insane later in life. Even Morphy and Steinitz. Steinitz ended up in a madhouse, Morphy was delusional at the end of his life, which was not even old. You can't dismiss factual claims. Its a fact that chess players tend to experience insanity very frequently. They need to be stopped.

Off Topic!

Severe mental illness is common in society, afflicting >5% of the population. Are you suggesting that among a comprehensive list of professional chessplayers, significantly more than 5% would be prove to be mentally ill?  (not counting age-related dementia, of course).

 Take your trolling to the next level.

5%? more like 25%. This is dangerous to the next level. And it isn't off topic, its about chess.

It has been shown that chess and other "brain games" improve the mind, not degrade it. A 20 year study has shown that.

Hey look, you're 117 years late to the party: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9900EFDA1E3DE433A25750C2A9649C94669ED7CF

Also, dungeons & dragons makes you believe that you can really cast spells.

1 in 4 chess players are insane? OK, I guess we can start with you.

Not insane, but the murderous urges are already growing inside you. You can still be saved.

says the person with the good username, lol u r spammed. 

/u/changetip 1 coffee 

I sent a letter to SPICE an hour ago with the same complaint. I hope they understand.

Concerning this thread: "Against such stupidity even the gods argue in vain."

There is a reason most elite grandmasters wear helmets.

Saying Pichushing was a Russian murderer who played chess makes about as much sense as saying he was a Russian murderer who drank vodka. It's so silly to wonder whether or not playing chess is a waste of time.  It's like wondering if playing tennis is a waste of time, or playing golf is a waste of time (oops! wrong analogy cuz it is), or watching football over Thanksgiving is a waste of time. Engage in the things that you enjoy  and give you pleasure, including chess, for those are the things that make life worth living.     

If what you are worried about is serial killers, etc. then trolls should be illegal, not chess players ;).  Troll posts are the work of a bored, idle, slightly off kilter mind (and talk about wasteful)...pretty much your serial killer demographic right there ;)...

The best option is obviously to close this thread down immediately, and contact Lol's ISP...

Chess is far less dangerous to society than smoking or drinking alcohol, and attempts to abolish these activities have failed. The premise of the OP's argument is flawed. The idea that society should prohibit activities that create eve a remote chance of danger eans cars and tall buildings should be made liiegal. does this seem like a good use of time?

I can sympathize with some of the OP's sentiments, but by this argument, football, baseball, hockey, basketball and poker should also be illegal professions. There's nothing special about the game of chess that makes it worse than all of these other games where professional play is legal and common, and in my opinion, if someone wants to play chess professionally, then they can go ahead. People should be able to do whatever they want, as long as it doesn't negatively affect others.