MajicMan: Turn based is fantastic. Turn based requires tactical thinking in a different way. You have to plan several moves in advance because your opponent will also get their turn. Chess, Go, Poker have stood the test of time because of gameplay.
I could never really get into RTS because watching a horde of characters just being number crunched was boring. I had no say in the actually combat.
I'm a bit on the fence. I generally enjoy RTS games (more), but e.g. right now I am quite much enjoying Fallout Tactics (in TB mode; it has an option for realtime mode too but I prefer having the ability to think my way through some of the harder battles; plus if I understood right in realtime mode some of the abilities might become irrelevant which I don't like (like Agility?), or maybe it was some of the skills/perks).
I see it a bit like a turn-based tactical game is indeed more tactical (maybe like you said playing chess or such), but RTS is more like commanding forces in an actual battlefield. You don't get turns in a battlefield but the action goes on all the time on both sides, and you don't micromanage each character by reloading their guns for them etc. In turn-based games you micromanage much more, as if you are playing yourself the full role of each and every soldier in your team, instead of merely commanding them vaguely to do something.
While it is not directly related to being turn-based or real-time (strategy game), quite often RTS games are about gathering resources and producing more units (and upgrading your existing ones). TB games are more about finishing mission objectives with a set number of units. Like in Fallout Tactics, I have six team members which I try to utilize in all missions the best I can, and make sure none of them die at any point. They are not cannon fodder like most units are in RTS games, even if you want to minimize your losses there too.
I like both aspects for different reasons. I like RTS games where I get to build my own base/town from a scratch and later destroy the whole enemy base. On the other hand, in Fallout Tactics I like the feeling that I know each enemy mutant I am able to kill (e.g. sniping them from afar before they can reach me), means I am one step closer to clearing the whole area from all baddies and finishing the mission. Unlike in most RTS games, the enemy is not constantly producing more and more enemies to kill so in that sense killing a single enemy unit has less importance to success in RTS games.