Actually, I used to play hockey so Ive lost a few teeth playing (but I've knocked more out). Playing in a band allows me to be completely nerdy and cool at the same time. It really angers me because if I wasn't a musician, I'm sure people would make the usual snotty comments about chess. Screw them, LONG LIVE CHESS!

just Don't care, they're just jealous.

Offer to teach them how to play, Like how MrWizard is doing to the year 3's

yeah i know nathan but remember they think chess is crap so just don' t care about em tiarna thinks that chess sucks so thats why i don't like her

Tell them a few things....such as chess is the 2nd most popular game in the world [more people play chess than any other game except soccer]

Chess is one of the oldest games created by man.

Chess has more books written about it than all other games put together - because there are so many things to learn about it!

Chess is taught in schools all over the world because it improves thinking power [ www.auschess.org.au/articles/chessmind.htm ]

You can get the whole day off school to compete in tournaments! [Cool!]

Finally, who are 'they' to critisize CHESS? Chess is for everyone except the dummies. Come along to chess and play MrWizard - if you ever beat him, you win $1000...that's each time! Now if these kids think they are too smart/cool for chess, they have to admit they could certainly use a few $1000. All they have to do is use their superiour brain power and 'beat the teacher'.

They are so 'uncool' aren't they

I love chess, but completely disagree in making it an olympic "sport". Heck, it's not even a sport. It's a complex, competitive game that requires a substantial amount of training and proficiency. But it's not a sport, in the same way that billiards or dominos aren't.

The last thing Chess needs is to become involved in the machinations and politics of the IOC, like not being able to get external sponsors and having to hide the "brand" of your clock, being forced to forfeit because your coach failed a drug test, or some other idiotic measures proposed (like drugs make you smarter). Not that FIDE is much better, for reference several presidents have been tied to corruption both within and outside the game (Campomanes, Ilyumzhinov).

I believe there's a little tournament that gathers some of the best players, and groups them in national teams. Maybe it's taking place right now in Dresden, too. But I don't think it's called the Olympics :P .

I do agree that chess should be easier to access, but not necessarily live on TV. No offense, but it is not exactly very lively. It would be great to have some regular programs reviewing games and maybe teaching a bit.

mr wizard is right oh and tycho chess is a sport and it should be an olympic sport.

How do you classify it as a sport, afldood08? It has been classified as such, but I guess we need to compare apples to apples. I'd love to hear your arguments on why it should be an olympic sport.

Princeton's dictionary defines sport as:

an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition. 

Do you agree with this definition? Does sitting in front of a table, under extreme concentration for hours, classify as exertion? Maybe we should annotate "mind sport". Then I'd have no problem.

Is checkers a sport?

Dominos?

Curling?

Hot dog eating contests? (not a joke, it's on ESPN so it must be a sport, right?)

Bowling?

Archery? (I consider this a discipline more than a sport).

I still think chess should organize it's own tournaments (like the Olympiad) and not be involved in the mess of the IOC. I stated why I opposed such a move, but no arguments in favour have been formulated. And yes, Mr. Wizard is right, chess is cool! But remember, you should always strive to be respected by your peers, not by some prejudiced dunce.

In the mid-90s there was a real push to have chess as an olympic event.  It fell apart when various chess players indicated that they were unwilling to undergo drug testing to particiapte.

ask Mr Wizard and he will tell you why and no matter what anyone sais i will always think that chess is a sport and i would hapily protest to put chess into the olympics. I do not care what anyone else thinks i stick to what i say unless someone proves me wrong which anyone has not yet!

It's impossible to prove you wrong when you present no arguments, mate. If you state the reasons you think chess is a sport and/or why it should be in the Olympic games, we can have a discussion - preferably constructive. I don't need to ask Mr Wizard anything, this is an open forum and if you have your reasons, it is my belief you should state them.

If, on the other hand, you're just ranting and " no matter what anyone sais (sic)" you will always think that chess is a sport, then there is no point in me replying further. These are your beliefs, and you admit that you do not care what anyone else says. So why should I, or anyone else, care about what you say in return? When we discuss with bases and ideas, the debate is fruitful. When I say " it's red" and you say "it's blue", without further argument,  advances are impossible and conversation is futile. What's the point in only ever talking to people that agree with you inconditionally?

Regards,

Tycho

not a sport. its a competitive game. sure there is mental exhaustion and you may get tired and fatigued sitting at the table staring at pieces, but you get the same feeling doing a test or writing your thesis.

yeah i agree with gordo you are trying to compete and i love maths which well that is not the point anyway lots of people thinks that chess is a sport and tycho if chess is not a sport why are people playing in tournaments because anything that has a tournament that has a sport or anything else to do with it it is a sport. and on Garry Kasporov's web site he said that he thought that chess is a sport.

Chess is the highest sport in that it shows us what a true game is. It is archetypal and is still teaching us the hidden elements of thought, learning, mastery, ext

Checkers has been downgraded to a game because it has been solved by super computers. Chess will never be solved in any phase of the game: opening, middle, endgame. So to claim that because it isn't "physical"  it shouldn't be in the Olympics is missing the point that people actually learn from chess. And if that is not a definition of a sport I don't know what is.

chess. Like life, is what you make of it.

 Do we really care if stray dogs are barking in the street (as long as they do not bite us)?

Chess at the highest level is physical as well as mental. If there are two players of roughly equal strength and insight in chess competing for the world championship the player who can best handle the stress, exhaustion, and concentration of staring at a board for over 3 hours excrutiatingly calculating hundreds of possible variations of different pieces, will be the least likely of the two to succumb to their mental/physical fatigue and make a blunder.

It goes without saying that it is a highly competitive game as well as a diversion, so I think that fills princeston's criteria for a sport.

How about we have a vote say yes or no if you think chess should be a sport or a sport in the olympics!

As a kid of the 70s when Chess was becoming more popular in the US due to the influence of Bobby Fischer winning the world championship, you were considered to be very intelligent if you knew how to play chess. I used to remember other kids who I played baseball or football with would find out that I played chess and asked me if I could show them how to play the game.

I do not think that is the case today in schools. You would probably be seen as nerdy for liking such a cerebral game. I think that it is a defense mechanism for people so that they dont think of themselves as being inferior intellectually.

Below is the Wikipedia definition of "SPORT". According to this, Chess would indeed by a Sport. TYCHO ... I agree with you in being somewhat reluctant to see Chess put into the Olympic GAMES. I have to believe that such exposure would benefit the popularity of the game, but not sure I can see that particular venue, with its restrictions and regulations, as being one for promoting good Chess play. But I do tend to think that Chess IS a sport. Must a sport be classified as soley physical activity, and even if so, Chess does require a good physical state to play ones best. Even some endurance. Can you tell us why you do NOT feel it qualifies as a SPORT? For instance, your example of Billiards as NOT a sport(?) ... what is the difference then between hitting a billiard ball vs hitting a baseball? ... or tossing a curling uh curler-thing ? Isn't it true that even physical sports have a mental component ... so where is a line drawn? What is it you feel Chess lacks to be a sport?

There always seem to be many players on both sides of the question when it comes up. It was amusing to see one solution to adding more physical aspects, when awhile back someone was promoting "Kick-boxing-Chess" on the net. Tho personally, having someone resign by trying to bonk their King off my head was enough of a Contact Sport for me.

"Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determiner of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. Sports differ from Games based on levels of organization and profit (not always monetary). Accurate records are kept and updated, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced".

chess uis very relaxing and entertaining