In my experience TONS of chess players play Tennis. Although tennis is fairly popular in general so maybe it's just confirmation bias.
I can't find it now but in the bibliography of "Seven Deadly Chess Sins" by GM Rowson there was randomly a book about Tennis. I went and read it and it had a profound effect on me. If anyone can remember the name of it I would be very appreciative.
I like most of the answers. They are very true. But there's an elementary and obvious characteristic in both games, related to the rules, that in chess dictates the strategy. It's something intrinsic to the game and it has nothing to do with fitness or psychological strategy. So the answer is very simple and rediculously obvious. And, please, don't forget the second question.
#11
"The Inner Game of Tennis"
Question 1: I think chess is similar to tennis as in both sports the best moves are "attacking moves" forcing your opponent to respond to your threats.
Question 2: Therefore chess players must generate threats forcing your opponents move.
Thanks Gadz!
In both games you need balls. Haha, no i guess the answer has to do with active prophylaxis. You need to be prepared for your opponents move. In tennis by walking to the center of your side, and at the same time checking on which side the opponent is weak, in chess by making moves which anticipate your opponents moves and also execute threats at the same time.
HA HA HA, yes, you need balls!
Thanks for the replies, guys!
Of course I didn't expect you to guess what I had in mind but some of the answers got close.
The first answer is ridiculously obvious and may sound silly. However it's something many players ignore, which impacts their play negatively.
Chess and tennis are similar in many ways, as you guys have demonstrated here. But the elementary common feature of both is that the players can only make a move at a time. In tennis you can't hit the ball twice when it's your turn. In chess you can't make two moves in a row either. This characteristic forces the players to play the game in a very particular way. If you want to succeed in chess you must not ignore it.
Knowing this, the most essencial strategy in chess is to make moves that achieve more than one goal and that don't waste tempi. If you do that better than your opponent you will certainly get an advantage. This is well known by experienced chess players, but even in high level chess we see moves that disrespect this principle.
So remember this: you can only make one move at a time! Think about it. It's deeper than it might sound.
Great piece of advice!
Tennis requires stamina and if you are a tournament player or even a long session player you must have it also.
Chess requires timing and so does tennis. Not timing of the game but timing in terms of when moves are made. When you hit the ball precisely in tennis.
