Learn Hardcore Russian: Мы любим играть в шахматы вечером.

Infinitive: любить
Stem: люб-
Present tense endings (2nd conjugation pattern):
- я любл-ю – I love
- ты люб-ишь – you love (sg., informal)
- он/она/оно люб-ит – he/she/it loves
- мы люб-им – we love
- вы люб-ите – you love (pl. / formal)
- они люб-ят – they love

So мы любим literally means we love / we like.

Why do we say любим играть and not just играем?

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things:

Мы любим играть в шахматы вечером.
Focus: we enjoy playing chess in the evening. It talks about a liking / preference.
Мы играем в шахматы вечером.
Focus: we play chess in the evening (as a fact or routine), but it doesn’t explicitly say whether we enjoy it.

So любим играть ≈ “(we) like to play”, while играем ≈ “(we) play”.

Why is играть in the infinitive, and is that always used after любить?

Yes, this is normal. After любить (to love/like doing something), you usually use the infinitive:

любить + infinitive
- Я люблю читать. – I like to read.
- Она любит петь. – She likes to sing.
- Мы любим играть. – We like to play.

So in мы любим играть в шахматы, играть is an infinitive meaning to play and depends on любим (“we like to play chess”).

What is the difference between любить and нравиться in a sentence like this?

Both can express liking, but they work differently grammatically:

Любить + infinitive / noun
- Мы любим играть в шахматы.
  Literally: We love to play chess.
  Structure: subject (мы) + любить + infinitive.
Нравиться + dative + infinitive / noun
- Нам нравится играть в шахматы.
  Literally: Playing chess is pleasing to us.
  Structure: (to us) + нравится + infinitive.

Main points:

Любить is more direct and active: we (actively) like something.
Нравиться is more like something is pleasing to someone and needs a dative pronoun:
- мне нравится, тебе нравится, ему нравится, нам нравится, etc.

In everyday speech, both are common. Мы любим играть в шахматы and Нам нравится играть в шахматы are very close in meaning.

Why is it играть в шахматы and not something else? What does в do here?

With games and sports, Russian normally uses играть в + accusative:

играть в футбол – to play football
играть в карты – to play cards
играть в теннис – to play tennis
играть в шахматы – to play chess

So в here means roughly “at / (the game of)”, and it requires the accusative case of the noun that follows. Шахматы in this sentence is in the accusative plural form (which looks the same as the nominative plural).

Why is шахматы plural in Russian? Chess is singular in English.

In Russian, шахматы is grammatically plural-only (like “scissors” or “pants” in English):

шахматы – chess (literally: “chesses”, but you never use a singular form in normal speech)
You say:
- Я играю в шахматы. – I play chess.
- Шахматы – интересная игра. – Chess is an interesting game.

There is no normal singular form like шахмат meaning a single chess; instead, for more precise expressions, Russians use other words:

шахматная партия – a game of chess
шахматная фигура – a chess piece

But the basic word for “chess” as a game is шахматы (plural).

What case is шахматы in here, and how can I tell?

After играть в (to play + game/sport), the noun is in the accusative case, usually meaning the game you are playing.

In the sentence:

играть в шахматы – шахматы is accusative plural.

For many inanimate plural nouns, nominative plural and accusative plural look the same, so you identify the case mostly from the preposition and context:

шахматы can be nominative plural (subject) or accusative plural (object).
Here, after в with the meaning “(to play) at a game”, it’s accusative.

Compare:

Я играю в шахматы. – I play chess. (в + accusative)
Я думаю о шахматах. – I’m thinking about chess. (о + prepositional)

Why is it вечером and not вечер or something with a preposition like в вечер?

Вечером is the instrumental singular of вечер (evening), but in practice it functions like an adverb of time: “in the evening”.

Russian often uses the instrumental case without a preposition to talk about time when something happens:

утром – in the morning (from утро)
днём – in the daytime (from день)
вечером – in the evening (from вечер)
ночью – at night (from ночь)

So:

Мы любим играть в шахматы вечером.
= We like to play chess in the evening.

You do not say в вечер in this meaning. You simply use вечером.

Can I change the word order? For example: Вечером мы любим играть в шахматы or Мы вечером любим играть в шахматы?

Yes, Russian word order is quite flexible, especially with adverbs like вечером. All of these are grammatically correct:

Мы любим играть в шахматы вечером.
Neutral: “We like to play chess in the evening.”
Вечером мы любим играть в шахматы.
Slightly more emphasis on when: “In the evening, we like to play chess.”
Мы вечером любим играть в шахматы.
Focus on the combination “we (specifically) in the evenings like playing chess”.

In everyday speech, all three could be used; the differences are mostly about emphasis and context, not basic grammar.

Why is it играть в шахматы, but играть на гитаре (to play the guitar)? What is the difference between в and на after играть?

Russian distinguishes between playing games/sports and playing musical instruments:

играть в + accusative – to play a game or sport
- играть в шахматы – to play chess
- играть в футбол – to play football
- играть в карты – to play cards
играть на + prepositional – to play a musical instrument
- играть на гитаре – to play the guitar
- играть на пианино – to play the piano
- играть на скрипке – to play the violin

So:

в → “play at (a game)”
на → “play on (an instrument)”

Could I drop мы and just say Любим играть в шахматы вечером?

In everyday Russian, subject pronouns (я, ты, мы, вы, etc.) can often be omitted if the subject is clear from the verb ending and the context.

So Любим играть в шахматы вечером could appear in conversation, especially if:

The subject we is already clear from previous sentences, or
It’s used as a short answer to a question like:
– Что вы обычно делаете вечером? – What do you usually do in the evening?
– Любим играть в шахматы вечером. – (We) like to play chess in the evening.

However, in a standalone sentence or in more formal / written language, it is more natural and clear to include мы:
Мы любим играть в шахматы вечером.

How would I make this sentence negative: “We don’t like to play chess in the evening”?

You add не before the verb любим:

Мы не любим играть в шахматы вечером.
= We don’t like to play chess in the evening.

Word order:

не goes directly before the verb it negates:
- Мы не любим…
- Я не люблю…
- Они не любят…

The rest of the structure (играть в шахматы вечером) stays the same.