Isn't it compusory for children to learn it in some countries?

There are many advantages like improving concentration, logic, spacial thinking etc, bit then theres the stress, the cost and the pressure i some serious competitions. My dad taught me when i was 9 and he doesn't regret it, apart from the expense :P Of course he had no idea that I'd be fairly decent at it and take it to the level which i have.

I have a question: do you inherit some of the skills of chess? For example, some footballer's children took after them, as did athletes, singers etc. I don't mean necessarily, but do you think it is likely at all?

From a kid's point of view (i'm 14) i don't think it causes social isolation. In fact, for me it is the opposite - i have made some good friends through chess, and it has added another branch to my social network. Some particular local competitions are more social events from chess, as i know most of the kids there from the chess circuit, and we have a laugh and mess around. Then again, maybe it's because i'm a girl and i think there are more solidary boys than girls.

"isolated people may be drawn to chess but it is not the chess that creates them......" i agree with this - i know someone who is more content with his own company than he is in other people's. When he found chess it was instantly his passion and he seems to find something in it.

If i have kids and they would like to learn chess, i dont' think I'd hesitate in teaching them, however i don't know what level they'd take it to. On the other hnd, i suppose i can't really say because im a kid.

Yes both my girls are learning..... social isolation is nothing to do with chess.

isolated people may be drawn to chess but it is not the chess that creates them........

the problem solving independent analysis is not something that is really taught at school...

Yeah I believe that kids should be taught chess. However they should also try to find friends who play chess and not think it's nerdy or whatever.

i feel like i have authority in this subject since i am a kid, and yes, i do think kids should be taught chess.

We had five kids and I taught four of them to play chess.  (The other wasn't interested, so he missed out.)  For a couple of years they were very enthusiastic, played some tournaments, and learned to play fairly well. 

But their real interest was in soccer and that's where their enthusiasm really centred, so chess was really an addition to their lives and not a central part of it.

Only the oldest maintained her interest in the game, and uses the handle Pirc.  It was she who discovered chess.com and persuaded me to join.

So if I hadn't taught my kids to play chess, I wouldn't be writing this now. 

The Closet Grandmaster says, "Chess is demanding! Not only to the wallet, to your time - but to your spirits, most of all. While the wins can bring about joyous heights, those losses, too, can exact a pretty heavy toll - like nights of tossing and turning thinking about where you went wrong."

This is true for any endeavor where one puts pressure on oneself to excel. I don't believe it's exclusive to chess. It can be the same or worse for team sports where your child feels like he/she let the team down. I would think the same type of emotions occur when one is dealing in the fine arts and as an artist you can't seem to archieve the perfection that you're looking for.

Of course you should teach your child to play chess, maybe he/she will take it up or maybe not. How the child deals with the consequences of competition is part of learning about life.