Einstein should have spent less time playing chess, and more time trying to figure out why relativity breaks down inside of black holes.
I agree; chess is kind of a waste of time, and you can get addicted to it. But Einstein new this, and so he never put much of his time into it. I bet he could have become a great chessplayer if he really tried harder, but he made the right choice.
Is it known that the game is authentic?