The only people who stick with chess are peole who...

... enjoy problem solving. (Not that those who enjoy problem solving will necessarily like chess).

Is this a fair statement?  It seems that a game can be summed up this way... we as players are faced with one problem after another and we try to find the best solution.  Everything from how do I survive my nagging disadvantage to how do I convert my winning position.

It seems that someone who was in it for the competition, or to put on airs on intelligence, or even for the creative/beauty side of it wouldn't last long if the love for problem solving wasn't at the core of it all.  What do you think?

I think you would be right if chess was a single player game.  However, I think the ability to tolerate and/or thrive in the face of competition and pressure to succeed plays just as big of a role.  I've heard an arguement that the main reason that there are not many female players at the top level is that the competitive environment that chess tends to brew up does not appeal to the female psychology, but otherwise they are as capable as men are in the game and probably have just as much enjoyment with problem solving.

@OP: Yes I completely agree. I like to think of every move/decision in chess as its own logical problem, as if it were a brain teaser in a book. Sometimes these problems have different goals. In endgames, the nature of the position often results in finding a way to queen a pawn. In openings the problem to solve might be finding a way to reach your ideal position by gaining tempi on the opponent. I think if more people thought about chess this way, they wouldn't be as frustrated by it.

It is the ideal game for logical, abstract problem solving. The irony is that the game is so difficult that it can often overwhelm, frustrate, and discourage even people who (generally) love problem solving.

I agree too. I always thought of chess as a good exercise in problem solving.  A chess game is a mutating puzzle that changes with each player's move.  Each move, no matter what the piece, is significant and can completely change the outcome of the game.

On the other hand... I think a lot of chess players LOVE competition! There are a lot of determined chess players who stick with playing chess whether they are winning or losing games, just for the fun of it, or just as an exercise for their brains. I believe some people simply stop playing the game for lack of succes in winning... it does seem to seperate who really loves the game and who...well... I don't know really. I just know that  I love chess and will continue to play until the day I die. 

Great Topic! I think about this sort of thing often.  I often wonder what other games compare to chess in this "problem solving" way.  

Certainly the mystery is an alluring quality of chess. I need continual cerebral challenge and stimulation or I feel like I am in a mental straight jacket. The pseudo infinity of chess provides an ample supply of all of these.

like to have to solve problems in order to win a game. Chess is just one big puzzle with many answers to it; you chose if you want to solve it or enjoy trying.

Who posts this stuff?

I guess it's unfair to leave out competition as a reason to stick to chess. Still, it takes a certain kind of person to use chess for their competition instead of, say, sports.

I completely disagree. If that were the case then people would be indifferent between playing chess online and playing chess in real life. There is competition, the beauty of the game, the community, chess news, etc. 

I've never thought about it before you asked this waffle.  Quite frankly, I have been a competitive gamer all my life, be it sports, poker, video games, ect.  I love a challenge, and more so a challenge that comes with an opportunity to destroy my opponent(s). I do feel that the love of problem solving does come into play, but personally I enjoy the competitive aspect of chess more than anything else.

For me, i'd agree, i like the beauty of searching for the hidden win (or .. as you mentioned ... saving a bad game), i like the artistic element of chess, much more than competitive chess (which i hardly like at all and is basically why my career was only 3 years otb).