Is chess only for dorks?

Question

Does anyone else other than dorks play chess?

Answer 1

If you do a Google search of "famous chess players" you might be fascinated with who you find who have enjoyed playing chess!
Go to:
www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lab/7378/famous.htm - 526k -

Here are just a few of the names listed...

Kareem Abdul Jabbar, John Quincy Adams, Ben Affleck, Alan Alda, Lauren Bacall, Antonio Banderas, Ludwig Beethoven, Larry Bird, Sonny Bono, David Bowie, Marlon Brando, Mel Brooks, Jim Brown, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, Wilt Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Christopher Columbus, Bill Cosby, Aleister Crowley, Macaulay Culkin, Salvador Dali, Matt Damon, Ted Danson, Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bob Dylan, Roger Ebert, Albert Einstein, Queen Elizabeth I & II, Peter Falk, Morgan Fairchild, Mike Farrell, Mia Farrow, Jose Ferrer, Lawrence Fishburne, Michael J. Fox, Henry Fonda, Jamie Foxx, Sigmund Freud, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Bill Gates, Al Gore, Billy Graham, Ulysses S. Grant, Lorne Greene, Woody Harrelson, Alfred Hitchcock, Adolf Hitler, Bob Hope, Anthony Hopkins, Harry Houdini, Ben Kingsley, John Lennon, David Letterman, Abe Lincoln, LL Cool J, Steve Martin, Harpo and Chico Marx, Walter Mathau, Joni Mitchell, Marilyn Monroe, Rick Moranis, Willie nelson, Paul Newman, Chuck Norris, Eward Norton, Yoko Ono, Bill O'Reilly, Edgar Allen Poe, Jason Priestly, Dennis Quaid, Anthony Quinn, Tony Randall, Helen Reddy, Keanu Reeves, Carl Reiner, Rembrandt, Christina Ricci, David Lee Roth, Maria Shriver, Brooke Shields, Frank Sinatra, Will Smith, Kevin Spacey, David Spade, George Steinbrenner, Sylvester Stallone, Ringo Starr, Sting, Shirley Temple, Leo Tolstoy, Liv Tyler, John Wayne, Orson Welles, James Whitmore, Oscar Wilde, Robin Williams...

...just to name a few.

Are all these talented people dorks?

My answer to your question then would be "No, chess is not only for dorks. But I can see why you'd think so with jerks like Bobby Fischer playing." Look up the Polgar sisters. They are doing all they can to give the chess world a respectable name again.

Fun question...thanks!

Answer 2

I'd rather be a dork than somebody that has nothing better to do with their time but to judge others for the activities they're actually bothering to pursue - now that's really pathetic.

This being said, chess is actually for everyone. It's a great way for kids to learn to respect other people, whatever their color, language, or style of clothing; because when you play someone at chess, you have to recognize they think at the same level you do. Chessmasters have come from all walks of life, from doctors to mathematicians, artists, army personnel, etc...
So no. Chess is for everyone. If you don't like it... Well, who's keeping you in a chess room?

Answer 3

Chess is called the game of kings because it was at one stage in european history reserved for nobility. Even now in Russia (and eastern europe) it is a national past time and carries more stature than playing basketball or football in that country.

An ancient game it has been played around the world for thousands of years. Furthermore chess exemplafies the very nature of competition and strategy. Two perfectly matched opposing forces with no elements of chance or luck.

Chess theory is a science that captures elements of mathematics, logic, and pattern recognition.

A more accurate question in my opinion would be does anyone except for naive people NOT play chess.


It's a good game - in case it isn't obvious, the answer to your question is, yes.

Answer 4

The very fact that you use the word "Dork"
does not bode well for your future. Why do
you try to label people?

In any case, many of the finest minds across
all disciplines play chess. Indeed, MOST of
the famous tactitions in the military play
chess.

It teaches strategic thinking and introduces
all kinds of real-life concepts to conflict in
a safe, low-stress atmosphere.

Put the question another way: The percentage
of people in the chess club who go on to be
employed is much higher than the percentage
of people in, say, the baseball team, that go
on to be employed.

Is being employed dorkish?

Answer 5

Chess is the ultimate game of combat strategy. So, if what you are saying is true, then only dorks go to war. Hmmm.

Answer 6

I play chess when I'm bored. I also wrestle, play varsity baseball, and take AP classes. Those who make fun of you for playing chess only do so because they are to stupid to know how. I don't play often, but I certainly don't make fun of someone for doing so.

Answer 7

No, because chess helps you in life by teaching you to think things through

Answer 8

no my 2 brothers are not dorks at all he is cool and there is 4 brothers of mine but 2 of them love playing together and my older brother is becoming a dentist so he is no dork at all.

and my younger brother plays against my older brother is 16 and they have so much fun.

Answer 9

No, anyone can play chess

Answer 10

Excuse me do dorkks know how to play chess? if it is pigs will fly hahas... of course not.. i oso play chess during leisure