Are There Any Real-Life Applications of Chess?
If you play chess a lot, you'll probably develop some or all of these:


Critical thinking (Are some moves better than others?)
Analytical skills (What's my opponent likely to do?)
Spatial awareness (Where can a given piece move?)
Patience (Good strategies take time to develop)
Courtesy (Be a good loser and winner, no table flips, etc.)


I think one would be hard-pressed to argue that any of those aren't useful for everyday life.