Now 'this' is a pretty lame question, huh? ... Well I'd gather that I'd only like to 'think' to play the one that wins - via checkmate! ...

First off, this survey question could've been 'better' put by [only] attempting to ask, 'Which move would you play, dependent on the circumstances?' (i.e. phase of the game, position, opponent, tourney format, time control, and perhaps a host of other numerous variables as to whether one wants to win/lose/draw their particular game).

In all honesty, I really can't put an answer towards this 'question', to put it plainly.  This is akin to just saying/asking: '[Would you {if one could}] Roll the bones upon the chessboard, and make your corresponding move[?]'.  So I think [at 'best'] I'd just be inclined to make my move and hope for the best, leaving perhaps 'luck[?]' to take its course ... After all, 'it' couldn't be all that 'bad', for as in virtually all other forms of game-play, the element of fate eventually decides the outcome of play.

And that's the way 'I' see it! ...

Position determines my strategies. Sometimes you have to go hard or go home. Sometimes you have to have patients and wait for a slip up before you slip in for the kill. 

Play the best move!  If it is crazy, then fully calculate using the analysis board!  Usually i would go for the safe alternative if it is guarenteed to give me an advnatage, I just have to make sure not to blow it.  I have to agree with WBFISHER's post though - when playing higher players, you have to risk it, cause you have nothing to lose!

The safe way for sure.

Play the position, not your style of thoughts, look at the board and decide a move. This might be a safe defensive move, a positional manoever, a tactical blow being prepared, or even the execution of the tactic, or the crazy queen sac that wins on the spot!! Maybe even 4.Qxf7!! why not!? Play the position, nothing else 

I'm a beginner learning.

whatever floats your boat.  I just try to do what befuddles my opponent sooner, but I take only somewhat calculable risks to break a solid defence apart with attacks at three or four different places; you can only get hit so many times without getting hurt.

[COMMENT DELETED]and ilove you somachs my beutiful,wife brenda,

Karpovs quote:

Let us say the game may be continued in two ways: one of them is a beautiful tactical blow that gives rise to variations that don't yield to precise calculation; the other is clear positional pressure that leads to an endgame with microscopic chances of victory.... I would choose the latter without thinking twice. If the opponent offers keen play I don't object; but in such cases I get less satisfaction, even if I win, than from a game conducted according to all the rules of strategy with its ruthless logic.

I'd prefer to take risk to create the art than simple safe moves.

You don't learn to swim without getting in the water. If you play safe moves that you understand your whole life you will progress slower than somebody else who sits down in front of Kasparov's game halfway through and takes over for him. 

IRL games, I tend to be a little more careful. Online I tend to get a little crazy. Though it does depend on the importance of the game in both online, and in person.  If you're playing rated games, play what you know. If it's just for fun, do whatever you want. 

Live games on the net, I will usually go with the move that I can't fully calculate. OTB games I'll be more careful. Online games, I vary with mood ;P

Play safe when it seems winning, crazy otherwise.

When playing against fellow GMs, like my most recent game with Kasparov, I tend to play more carefully.  :-p

I play the safe and solid alternative.  Especially now, with so many chess players thinking they are Tal.  Slow, solid chess seems to annoy them, and its just a matter of waiting for that one mistake. 

I used to be the first, but now I generally play the more solid move.

To the person who said that the first option is essentially the equivalent to a blunder: I don't think you're interpreting the wording precisely. There are most certainly sacrifices that are quite, quite correct, and yet can't be fully calculated even by grandmasters. Although piece sacrifices involve looking at lots of variations, there comes a point, sometimes, where you have to guess where everything is headed -- it might end up in a win 15 moves later, even if such a win isn't calculable.

Thus, I don't think it's fair to equate "speculative sacrifice" with "desperate-for-complications" sacrifice. I'm assuming the question is referring to a situation where you see a safe move that looks perfectly good, yet have a feeling that a piece sacrifice makes a lot of sense, perhaps being equally as good or better than the safe move that you know is good. In that case, your answer depends a lot on both your style and, perhaps overlapping, attitude towards risk.

In team match always safe and solid.
in my own games it depends on the position but I like to mix things up with a strange move.
especially in 10 minutes games and 25 moves games I will try something funny. I don't care if Iose a 10 minute game therefore I might as well try something funny.

In blitz of course, its possible (even plausible) because the shock factor is much more important than positional advantages. In long games, sacrifces would still be a good choice, only if you could and would calculate the line fully.