Why do you do it?

Play chess, I mean.

To impress the ladies with my moves.

I must release the inner dork in me once and a while...

To win

I play for two reasons.

For enjoyment: chess is fun. (it's more fun when you win, though...)

For mental stimulation: chess can be many things to many people. I'm an academic; in addition to being an enjoyment, for me chess is also as much an intellectual discipline as my academic discipline (which is modern languages).

I gotta keep my customers satisfied, otherwise they'll find another supplier (of points I mean)

Makes me warm inside knowing I can outwit the majority of people.

Seriously though, I just love the way chess can be so unpredictive against human players, the sneaky moves that people can pull out of the hat when it looks like its going tits up for them never ceases to amaze me. And unlike games like poker, sports betting, theres very little in the way of luck involved - all down to skill of the individual.

I like the beauty of a combination or the thrill of a checkmate. I even sometimes like being beaten, if I tell myself I've learnt something from the game and they managed to make a beautiful combination I missed. And cause I love the game!

Because I can't stop

Because it's fun and more compatible with family life than other pastimes in which I used to indulge

Chess is damn wholesome!

I wish it could be appreciated more widely in this light, and not as some odd nerd niche.

its an escape from reality ( not going into why i want  to do that)

Basically, I got the mad fat fluid when I rhyme; it's halftime.

Generally, I don't feel the need to interrogate such a passion.  The desire to play and learn (well, play at least) is there, so why ignore it?

I play for the challenge of always improving my rating and attempted to become one of the strongest players in my club

Something to do, I guess.