the belief that chess is war

is a pretty lame belief. I think the idea that we are "warriors" "battling" is sort of idiotic and may contribute to some of the hyper aggressive, or hyper passive aggressive behavior in online chess. also, probably, to the rage and anger some of you feel when you lose. it's pretty hard not to take a loss in good spirits if you have conceptualized the game as a battle "to the death" I choose to look at each position as a puzzle instead. in that way, my opponent presents me with a new puzzle with each move. to each his own, if you need it to be a battle, go for it. but I think there are ways to conceptualize the game other than warfare.

Llama, that approach is similar to how I conceptualize my performance in golf (which I'm vastly better at than chess, thank the great sky wizard). But, you say there's no luck in chess. What about when you make a mistake, and your opponent doesn't see it and you go on to win...I'd say that's pretty lucky!

I agree...although, luck can play a huge part in golf. The course can and does, fight back. You can hit a sprinkler head in the fairway and go out of bounds, the wind can move a putt off the line. Imagine if weather played a part in chess! Haha

For many people, chess truly is war over the board.

"Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent's mind."

Bobby Fischer

Hey let the nerds live a little

When I was a lad the metaphor for having skills was tools in a toolbox. A very practical approach to getting things done. More and more I hear people describing skills as weapons, and the goal as destruction. I'm glad that other people find this odd.

Yeah, Fischer's quote comes up a lot. I think it's a ridiculous concept no matter which lunatic says it.

I didn't even notice that until now, but I agree. That is extremely worrisome.

Chess is a strategy game and you have to make all the possible moves before you move a piece there is infinite ways of winning chess

I believe that! Chess must be a war because the same techinics used in wars are used in chess. Like rook queen, Knight, its all about protecting the queen which is the fundaton of all modern wars, but instead of queen we have presidents and countries. Thats why this just a game and have nothing to do with wars.

So if we changed the name of pieces, it would not be about war? Like if the king was called "V1" the queen "V2"?

if you look at the top level, it is a useful belief. They do not only play the best moves they can but, they specifically look for weaknesses in their opponents game, like which openings the opponents mess up in. Chess is different from a puzzle, it’s a battle.

i do believe in the aspect that chess is war as there's nothing but soldiers on the battlefield being led by a commander to lead its army and secure victory. this old stereotype is what drove fischer crazy at some point as he did lock himself up with all these patterns of strategy and madness which did fail him years later unfortunately. i myself love the idea of chess being a war game as i just can't picture it as an intellectual, romantic, or brilliancy game due to the fact that you can have anyone on the street can come up to you and simply beat you at your own game. it is an intellectual game but only to the extension that it is merely strategic and involves you outplaying your opponent in a war-like scenario which i why i agree with it

this belief is also what drives many including the elite like Nakamura as they use hatred or negative fuel like a type of gasoline to improve their drive for the game. i also like to use this belief as its pure motivation to just be focused at all times and disciplined if you are aiming for a said goal or title which is rarely achieved by being silly and believing it flows gradually over time

I'm not saying that chess IS a puzzle or it IS NOT a battle, in reality, it only IS a board game. I'm simply stating that in my opinion, conceptualizing it as war may contribute to feelings of rage and anger, while a conceptualization of the game as a puzzle may not, or may not as much.

Fischer said a bad thing. Did he serve in the military?

I have no doubt that Fischer had severe mental illness, and it did overshadow his tremendous gift. However, his gift combined with his philosophy that chess is a war helped him to obtain unprecedented success (as of the 70s) over the chess board. His "madness" shouldn't allow others to think that just because one approaches the game in this manner and philosophy that they are, "lunatics."

Fischer's war attitude might be influenced by the ongoing cold war in that time.

Fischer is a Patriot.

Of winning the Chess War against the Soviets single handedly.