It's the same in sports too. A blunder in Tennis means you missed the ball. A blunder in Football (Soccer) means you gave possession to the other team. A blunder in Jiujitsu means you get choked out. The joy of these games don't come from not making any blunders; it's making less and less blunders each and every game. If I wrestle with someone and beat them time and time again, there's little fun in that. If I wrestle with someone and lose time and time again, that feeling of elation when I train my hardest and eventually beat them is incomparable.

Chess is a delightful game for a number of reasons. It's wonderful for all the reasons puzzles are; the sense of achievement when you solve one. That "aha!" moment, where all that calculation clicks. It's wonderful because of the competition; it's one of the few that have a system where you can accurately track your progress over time outside of major competition, ie. online chess. You can see your rank climbing day-by-day. It's wonderful because you effectively get a coach for free; modern engines can give advice on moves, tell you where you went wrong, and what was a more optimal move. That's something you'd have to pay an arm and a leg for in any other sport or game. I started learning and playing chess at the beginning of quarantine, and it's one of the most fulfilling things I've done competitively since doing sports at university.