Chess is the first step toward delinquency and madness.
Chess is the first step toward delinquency and madness.
Chess leading to madness - I think I get the joke here, and well, who knows, some grand masters have gone mad (although I'd guess some will dispute if there is clear link between madness and chess).. but delinquency? I'm not native English speaker so maybe I'm missing the full meaning of this word but translator tells me this word is clever way of saying 'crime', how on earth would chess lead to crime :) (other than, if played on paid time it is, well, crime of a sort, but same as browsing through social media).
https://gizmodo.com/chess-was-once-deemed-a-menace-to-societ...
Since the OP said they had to block chess because of phone addiction, the joke is just replacing drug addiction with chess. Chess (drugs addiction) leads to delinquency and madness.