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Chess... if you have a bazillion people, you'll inevitably end up with good chess players. Also it's just a straight-forward game, you just move pieces and eventually win or lose. There is a lot behind it, but the surface concept is simple enough that it can be watched and understood.

Coding in comparison is something with an uncertain path and goal. You "discover" the path as you go (finding optimal ways to structure code), and the goal may change over time. It is fundamentally difficult because there is almost always a better way to do it. Even if you are pro, this applies.

If I (or rather my parents) dedicated my life to chess since I was very young, I'd be a grandmaster today, or at least an international master. Not necessarily among the top, although I'd aim for it.

But in that case all I could and would do is play a game professionally. That's it - a completely unproductive life. It helps nobody. It creates nothing.