Is chess only fun when you win?
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No , I’m think of Tal. ”Mikhail Tal’s enthusiasm for the game he loved was unquenchable. In his later years he was afflicted by severe health problems which would have crushed a lesser man, but he never complained about his difficulties and continued to play chess right up to his death. Misha hated to postpone a game; even if he had to slip out of his doctors’ grasp, he would try to make it somehow. Despite his fragile appearance, his attacking powers and astonishingly quick sight of the board remained intact.” (from John Nunn’s foreword to The life and games of M. Tal). ”the game he loved ”
I also love this vague argument about the 'beauty' and 'pleasure' of chess. This game is not an art, there is no beauty to it in any way. Chess is nothing more than a cold, logical, robotic game where he/she who memorises the most positions will invariably win. There are so many other games in the world that aren't as one-dimensional as chess.
Why find anything beautiful?
Higher beauty is found after embracing the logic, the coldness of the abstract world.
It is integral rather than escapist.