High officials who feel itchy for action after retirement and have no outlet for their energy will compete in a chess game to fill the emptiness of their lives. "Besides being a pastime, Liang argues, chess also provides a healthy outlet for man's warlike nature, turning the primitive struggle for survival into a battle of wits:" Man is combative and tricky by nature.
除了消磨光陰，梁實秋認為，象棋之所以能使許多人樂此不彼，因為它頗合於人類好鬥的本能，是一種「鬥智不鬥力」的遊戲。「而人總是要鬥的，與其和人爭權奪利，還不如在棋盤上多佔幾個官，與其招搖撞騙，還不如在棋盤上抽上一車。」