Well, it's true that chess is limited to certain parameters (8x8 board, the way piece move, rules). That doesn't mean one cannot enjoy chess.
The "simple variation on the exact same theme" reminded me of Ludwig van Beethoven's many Variations and Themes. Lol.
Please watch this chess video...and please comment how many things are wrong with it....! Man, this infuriated me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LTyCE-2UUU&feature=player_embedded
Here is the relevant dialogue.
I used to play with a coworker friend of mine. Probably the best mind I ever went up against. One day he decided that he didn't want to play anymore.
So you gave up too?
Just the opposite. I attempted to play through every permutation of moves on a chess board.
That's an infinite number of games?
It's not infinite, it's just, it's exponentially large.
.....
You couldn't have played through them all?
There's an average of 40 moves per chess game and I'll tell you something, the more I played, the more I realized that every single match, every single chess game. It's really just a simple variation on the exact same theme. You know, it's aggressive opening, patient mid-game, inevitable check mate. And I realized why my friend quit. He was tired of repeating the exact same patterns and expecting a different outcome.