The familiarity of it

Chess is more familiar than you think.

• There is a king who doesn't do much himself because everybody "got his back."
• There's a queen who does whatever she likes.
• The bishops, knights, and rooks get stuff done.
• Then the pawns are like the foot soldiers and tend to get caught quickly. Unlike the other pieces, they have prospects. If a pawn stays alive long enough and gets to the other side of the board, it gets to be queen. 

Chess either gets you hooked or makes you avoid it because it is not played enough.

The number of different possible positions on the board adds up to 10 to the power of 120. The numbers of the pieces involved are frequently quoted and always unimaginable.

But chess is a game...