I’ve been a chess teacher for 20 years, published one chess book, edited five magazines, maintained two newspaper columns. I was writing a chess article before I took a break 10 minutes ago to visit Twitter, Facebook, and Fluther.
Flutherites who respond in this thread will probably write that they are good, or were good when they were kids, but chess is more difficult than they really know. Most tournament-level players cannot play chess passably well (using a definition of “passably well” supplied by Cecil Purdy, the greatest chess teacher who ever lived), but every tournament player can beat everyone on his/her block, at his/her office, in his/her family.
Educators like to overstate what chess does for people. We claim kids who play chess become smarter than other kids, but chess doesn’t make people smart. Hopefully, it teaches one how to accept the responsibility for one’s actions, and teaches one the desirability of making rational decisions.
Maybe the best thing about chess is that it can be whatever you want it to be: art, science, or sport. And for most people who play chess, it is a lot of fun.