Last Updated on January 25, 2024 by Gamesver Team and JC Franco
In my opinion, taking up chess as a hobby is one of the best things you could ever do. While chess can be played professionally, players of any skill level can regularly enjoy it during their leisure time. Playing chess can be fun, enthralling, and social, making it an appealing hobby for everyone.
For many non-pro players, chess is considered a great hobby to have since the game can be played for entertainment purposes during leisure time. Chess is also viewed as a social hobby, with many players bringing their chess sets to outdoor parks to compete with other like-minded locals.
Popular hobbies usually include regular yet pleasurable activities that can occupy most of your free time. For professional players, chess might not be a hobby; however, taking up chess as a hobby can be enormously rewarding to your body and mind.
Chess can potentially increase your cognitive, creative, and memory skills while simultaneously being incredibly enjoyable, making it a great hobby.
These are 21 reasons why chess can be a great hobby to have:
1. Chess Can Be Quite Enjoyable To Play
Often, playing chess professionally can be stressful and time-consuming; however, chess is enormously fun and entertaining as a hobby. The game of chess is captivating no matter your skill level and is a great way to spend most of your leisure time.
2. Chess Can Be Played In Your Spare Time
Chess does not have to be played at a given time. You can play online games at any time of the day or night against players of a similar skill level. Moreover, you can play against your friends or family while they are relaxing, as the game can be enjoyable for everyone with even the most basic understanding of the rules of chess.
3. Playing Chess Encourages Healthy Competition
While chess is a highly competitive and intense game for professional players, it exposes inexperienced players to healthy forms of competition. Exposure to healthy competition from an early age is important for personal development while offering sufficient stimulation as a hobby.
4. You Can Play Chess As Much As You Want
You can play chess on a chess board or through online applications. Playing chess in person on a chess board is the best and most gratifying way to enjoy this game. Yet, chess can be played at any time of the day or night on various online platforms, making it ideally suited as a hobby. Chess can help remove the boredom usually associated with too much free time.
5. Chess Is A Great Game For Beginners And Professionals
One of the main advantages of chess is that it can be enjoyable to play for people of any skill level. Enjoying chess and receiving the required stimulation from the game does not require much initial practice. Only a basic understanding of chess’s rules is required to take the game up as an enjoyable hobby.
6. Chess Is An Exciting And Entertaining Game
One of the main reasons why chess is such a popular game globally is its excitement factor. Due to the immense number of different moves and combinations players can utilize, there is always a surprise move lurking just around the corner. Watching other people play the game is entertaining, while challenging and beating your friends is one of life’s great pleasures.
7. Chess Requires Creativity And Engagement
The chess game can be enormously complex, as each piece moves uniquely and distinctly. To win a game of chess, you should be able to somewhat predict and understand your opponent’s next move, requiring significant amounts of mental creativity and engagement.
8. Chess Can Be Enormously Rewarding And Fulfilling
It is accepted that chess is a complicated and challenging game, filled with various tactical approaches. However, the game is incredibly rewarding and personally fulfilling when you finally conquer your opponent’s king, demonstrating your ability to overcome challenges.
9. Chess Can Be Consumed In The Form Of Online Videos (Live classes)
One of the greatest aspects of modern chess is that it can be played on a physical chess board, on various online platforms, and consumed in the form of online videos. Thousands of online chess-based videos are readily available, enhancing the enjoyment aspect of chess as a hobby.
10. Chess Is Globally Popular
The game of chess is incredibly prevalent globally, meaning that it can be taken up as a hobby no matter where you currently live. The game of chess is one of the things each country has in common since it does not require a specific language or culture to take up as a hobby. Moreover, chess has been around for thousands of years, increasing its popularity yearly.
11. Chess Enhances Problem-Solving Skills
The complexities and tactical variations associated with the chess game require significant mental problem-solving abilities. No matter your current critical-thinking capacities, the game can further enhance them.
12. Artistic And Unique Chess Boards Can Be Collected
Chess boards come in many assorted colors, shapes, and sizes, meaning you do not have to play the game to enjoy it as a hobby. People who enjoy collecting unique and artistic items will find chess boards and pieces quite fascinating.
13. Chess Can Be As Captivating As Modern Games
The game of chess is incredibly mentally stimulating, meaning it can be as beneficial to the human mind as other online video games. Moreover, chess is an entertaining and captivating way of spending our free time, making it a great hobby for those addicted to harmful online video games.
14. Many Chess Players Are Civil And Sophisticated
More often than not, chess players are civil and sophisticated, as the game favors healthier overall behavior. Playing chess in the park or at various local competitive tournaments will mean you should be exposed to a positive, smart, well-rounded group of people.
15. Chess Is A Healthy Way To Occupy Your Time
During people’s leisure time, many occupy their time with unhealthy behaviors due to boredom. However, chess is one of the healthiest hobbies, stimulating your mind while removing exposure to unhealthy activities.
16. Chess Can Benefit Mental Health And Cognitive Issues
Chess can benefit some mental health or cognitive issues you may face. The game can potentially enhance your overall mental abilities and distract your mind from any negativity it may face at that time.
17. Chess Can Be A Social Hobby
While chess can be played on various online platforms, it is also one of the most social games. Many players compete at local tournaments, where they can constantly socialize with other like-minded individuals. Moreover, you can take your chess board down to the local park and compete against anyone brave enough to challenge you.
18. Chess Can Enhance Self-Esteem
By taking up the game of chess as a hobby, you can effortlessly increase your self-confidence. The game of chess requires skill and significant cognitive abilities, meaning regularly conquering opponents will permanently increase your self-esteem.
19. Chess Might Decrease ADHD Symptoms
The amount of consistently intense concentration required to succeed at chess can potentially decrease some ADHD symptoms in the long term. It is accepted that chess enhances concentration abilities, which should decrease certain symptoms associated with ADHD.
20. Chess Will Benefit Your Ability To Concentrate
As a hobby, chess will enormously benefit your powers of concentration. Playing chess for fun or professionally will indirectly increase your ability to concentrate over longer periods due to the game’s tactical complexities.
21. Chess Can Strengthen Your Memory Capability
People with great memory abilities will likely perform better during games of chess. Trying to predict your opponent’s next move while remembering specific opening and middle-game patterns requires significant memory power. Frequently playing the game as a hobby will likely enhance your brain’s memory, benefitting most other areas of your life.
Last Word
Chess is a great hobby for anyone to take up. The game of chess can be played regularly and during usual leisure time, with it being one of the most enjoyable, stimulating, and enthralling hobbies of all time. While the game can be stressful and complex when played professionally, the associated benefits for player hobbyists are enormous, demonstrating why chess is so great.
This article was co-authored by our team of in-house and freelance writers, and reviewed by our editors, who enjoy sharing their knowledge about their favorite games with others!
JC Franco
JC Franco serves as a New York-based editor for Gamesver. His interest for board games centers around chess, a pursuit he began in elementary school at the age of 9. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Mercyhurst University, JC brings a blend of business acumen and creative insight to his role. Beyond his editorial endeavors, he is a certified USPTA professional, imparting his knowledge in tennis to enthusiasts across the New York City Metropolitan area.