Why do you like chess?

A few days ago I was traveling on a train with some friends, playing chess games on my phone in the meantime, when one of them asked "Why do you like chess so much?".

At the moment I just gave him a general answer, because I was also concentrating on the game, but after that his question stayed in my mind for a while and I tried to think about it more deeply. I know there are a lot of texts like this all around if you google it, but I decided to write and summarize what I think are my own reasons after trying to think rationally about it for a few days.

1) The first one is very mainstream, but nevertheless it is true and I cannot fail to mention it. Chess is a game for everybody. It doesn't matter what your age, sex, social status or anything else is. Chess is for men, women, children, elderly or even handicapped people. And all of them can play together, in the same room, at the same time, in the same environment. I can have fun playing with my grandfather (76), with my father (54), with my friends in their late 20s and also with my 11-year-old cousin.

I even met a blind guy who played in a chess club in Germany. In the end I won because he didn't see (lol sorry) a tactic I had, but the most important thing is that he was there playing without suffering any prejudice and having as much fun as everyone else. He told me about the accident that made him blind and how chess helped him overcome depression and put him back into a community where he could feel a part of. I could feel how happy he was and almost cried. Of course I enjoy other sports, such as tennis and football, but none is as democratic as chess. Let us agree that it is very difficult for me (a 155 cm tall woman), my old grandfather, my young cousin, a blind person and my bodybuilder friend to play the same game of football on the same field. But with chess it is possible. Yes, people also have level differences, but considering that it is a mental game, it is equally possible for everyone to improve and reach higher levels if they wish.

2) The second is the paradox that amazes me so much about this beautiful ancient game. It is both simple and complex. I was once asked: "Is chess hard to learn?" and I realized that there is no answer to this question.

In fact, it is quite easy to learn the rules and the basics. Chess is not like one of those crazy RPGs or card games where you have to play for hours or days before you understand the whole "book of rules". Actually, if we teach someone how the pieces move and what the rules are, that person can play a game in less than an hour and not make any illegal moves. So yes, it is easy. But he/she will suck, because at the same time chess is so complex that it takes years and years of full dedication if you want to master the game, and even then it is not guaranteed, only a few can achieve it. And just when humanity thought to have "solved" the game, along come the computers and AIs to show that we still don't know absolutely anything.

To me, it's incredible how something that seems so simple can be so complex that it's been played for centuries and still has so much to be discovered.

3) But the third and last reason is perhaps the one that really makes me love this game. It is probably not news to anyone here that the number of possible chess games is greater than the number of atoms in the whole universe, which opens up a league of possibilities capable of creating unique pieces of art. This is another paradox that puzzles and fascinates me.

Chess is an exact science, if you think rationally. Well defined rules, pieces that always start in the same position and theoretically no room for anything "unpredictable". In fact, if we had the computer capacity, we could catalog all possible games and moves. But at some moments we see the Masters playing, or even find ourselves, such crazy beautiful and unexpected moves/ideas that make our eyes shine. Queen sacrifices that lead to a deadly combination, or piece sacrifices with the idea of playing with a long-term positional advantage, or sometimes small and discreet pawn moves that totally strangle the opponent's position and leave him with no good moves. Chess is able to activate these two antagonistic parts of our brain.

It is logical, rational... it is mathematical. I have always been a logical person, who likes order, numbers, predictable things. When I play chess, I feel that part of me is satisfied, as if I were programming or solving a math/physics problem. But with time I found out that chess is actually much more than that. It is also art, beauty and creativity. And both at the same time, which is a wonderful paradox. Rational, but emotional. Predictable, but surprising. I think there is no other activity in my daily life that can make me feel like my whole brain is in ecstasy like this.

Below I have chosen some moves I once made during blitz games that the computer rated as "brilliant". I know this evaluation is polemical, but I think they can illustrate what I meant, especially in my last reason given above. I was so happy to find them, not because they are extremely difficult to see, but because they are sight for sore chess player's eyes. They sometimes look illogical, strange, nonsense, but in the end they are exactly what is needed to play rationally in the position.

A. Black sacrifices the Rook. White could not have taken it, as it leads to an unstoppable checkmate.

B. The Bishop diverts the White Queen's attention to the square a6. After Black's Queen reaches b3, there is no way to avoid checkmate.

C. Typical puzzle rush. White sacrifices the Queen to apply the fork with the Knight and win a piece at the end of the combination.

D. This one I am honestly not sure why it was considered brilliant. Once White's Rook captures the Knight, the Bishop on b4 is exposed. In the end, White wins Bishop + Knight for a Rook.

E. Another typical sacrifice. If Black takes the Bishop, White can play Qg6+ and the attack is unstoppable.

F. Exactly the same idea, but this time the rook is sacrificed. If Black takes, White can play Qg6+ and the attack is unstoppable.

G. Black's Pawn on a3 will obviously advance and White has only this one move to stop it. Black cannot take the rook because of back-rank checkmate, nor can he defend the pawn.

H. White controls the promotion, and now that the King has approached the Pawn, there is only one way for Black to win. The Rook cannot take the pawn because it is pinned, nor can it take Black's rook, or the pawn will be promoted. If the Pawn is captured with the King, White's rook is captured afterwards.

And for the last ones I will not show the move I played. Please let me know if you find it. The first one is harder and I was very happy with myself for finding the idea in a seemingly static position.

The second is easier and just for fun. Yes, the game is completely won, but there is a "cool" move that can be played to end it in a nice way. 🙂

I don't know how many of you will read this. If you do, first of all thank you, and please let me know what you think makes you like chess. There are probably many other reasons that I haven't even been able to think of.