The problem simply is that Chess takes too much time.

If you are an adult, playing Tennis twice a week for 90 minutes each time and therefore a total of 3 hours, is generally more than enough. Some play two hours or even just one.

Chess on the other hand... unless you are just playing a couple of games almost as a goof at some family barbecue every two months, is a very different story. 
It takes a lot of commitment, a lot of time, with all the studying and such.

How many, among people who say 'they play chess', spend only two hours per week on it?! Realistically.
Golf or most videogames are the same story tbh.

Well Chess is kind a waste of time. Its just a game, it wont make you smarter, its logic doesnt apply in real life. So imagine if you study chess for 10 000 hours. Yes you wil lget better in chess, but thats it. It has no other benefit in your life, you can really invest your studies in much different areas. For me I play chess just to chill as a game as I would play League of LEgends, DOTA 2, etc. But I rather invest time to study languages, reading books, I take programming course. This is stuff that makes you smarter, it will even make you money. But investing time to study chess unfortuanelly it is true, it is waste of time 

Well, videogames are at risk of being a huge time-sink as well, tbf.
But, yeah, unless one just plays it as a half goof on a sunday barbecue with family and friends, chess requires study - people who recreationally play things like, idk, table tennis, don't spend so much weekly time on it, let alone studying it.
As beautiful as Chess is, said commitment would be very hard to justify (rationally).

Currently I barely recall the first 2-3 moves of the London, gioco piano / ruy lopez, and the queen's gambit. That's it. I already forgot everything else (not that I had ever studied much, but still...)

How is this troll thread still alive after more than 8 years? Astonishing.

This is not a troll thread it is actually very serious problem. Reading this will help people wit htheir strugle. It indeed helped me. I used to play Chess 2-3 hours of a day and study it 1-2 hours, sometimes my entire day was about chess thats how much I got into it because how complex and competitive it can get. After I found out that there are more people with same struggle I seeked help online and I came to conclusion that yes, it was waste of time for me but there is never too late to stop. Now I play chess couple of times a week, i dont study it at all, I just play completelly intuitively and just for fun of it. Finally I put my time into much much productive areas and becomming "valuable" to the community and mostly to my self.  So to me, this thread was actually very helpfull. 

Is Chess a waste of time for non-pros?

YES!

Time can't be "wasted". It passes regardless of our choice of activity (at least in my experience). Some people choose to scroll social media for hours each week; I would rather play chess.

Well yea but your statement is not logical and have nothing to do with this topic. Of course playing chess is better than scrolling social media, but by same logic I can compare smoking crack is worse than smokign cigarettes, but neither is good for you... so time can be wasted. yes it does pass at the same time as yo uare "wasting it".  

Like any hobby, it's only as good as your enjoyment. Nobody's expecting you to make it into a profession, but to have fun.

Sometimes it's better to just play, and set aside the theory and studies, and instead focus on making friends around your skill level. The myth that we all need to constantly improve at Chess is an insidious one, and it's just that - a myth. The Chess World primarily exists to profit off of people who likely would never spend a single penny on the game.

I think that's the answer for anyone who's a non-professional player. Stop spending money and time trying to improve, and instead invest your time into enjoying the game. If you're not enjoying it, find another hobby. It's certainly not for everyone.

I quit for many years because I was made to play so much as a child.

Try saying it to hundreds of millions of people, who have to work for food in a work they don't enjoy 😂 You're gonna tell them that they work is waste of time, because they don't enjoy it? What should they do then, go homeless or starve to death? 🤔

No, this is NOT that simple!

You can deny it, but even if you don't enjoy it there are gains from playing chess or exercising your brain in some other ways, even if you don't believe it. Especially for older people, to keep their mind in shape.

You need some regular mental activity, and believe me or not, even if you don't enjoy it, it can be FAR from being a useless waste of time! 😉👍

Bro your replying to a comment from a decade ago but you good points

A mere hobby for the vast majority of people.

By playing chess Ive learned how to play chess better over the years which has probably helped me beat an enjoy other TB games. Money aside I wouldn't spend all my time playing chess just to be number 1 at the game. A lack of healthy personal relationships may lead to obsessions.

Isn´t life a waste of time? Whatever time is... Or life...

So then driving a car waste of time because not NASCAR. Eating waste of time because not competitive eater. Play basketball with your buddies? No way, waste of time u can't play NBA. So on so forth. Makes no sense. Get a job and stop trying to find get rich quick sh...stuff.

Humanity is a waste of space.

Maybe

Substitution is the best response is the activity your substituting in for chess time of value to you or anyone else.. You could go volunteer etc..

I'm retired so naturally I like games and more leisure time. Chess is fun, but if I play too much i do get a headache.