Chess is a sport

"The Ancient Olympic Games, held in Olympia, Greece, were as much a religious festival as an athletic event. The games were held in honor of the Greek god Zeus, and on the middle day of the games, 100 oxen would be sacrificed to him. Over time, Olympia became a central spot for the worship of the head of the Greek

Artistic expression was a major part of the games, and cultural events were celebrated. Sculptors, poets, painters, and other artisans would come to the games to display their works in what became an artistic competition. Poets would be commissioned to write poems in praise of the Olympic victors, known as 'epinikions', which were passed on from generation to generation.

Modern OlympicsCompetitions (1912–1948)

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who founded the modern Olympic Games, proposed including the arts in the Olympics, returning to the ancient tradition in Olympia, where both cultural events and physical feats were celebrated. At a 1906 conference in Paris, with unanimous approval from all participants (including 30 artists and five IOC members), a project was launched to establish five arts competitions as part of the Olympic Games: in architecture, sculpture, painting, literature, and music, the Olympic art competitions. Entries had to be on subjects chosen inspired by or related to sport, and the first official program was presented during the 1912 Games in Stockholm. These competitions were also named the "Pentathlon of the Muses", as their purpose was to bring artists to present their work and compete for "art" medals across five categories: architecture, music, literature, sculpture and painting. At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932, 31 countries participated, with 1,100 artworks exhibited at the Los Angeles Museum, attracting 384,000 attendees.

Festivals and the Cultural Olympiad (1952–)

After the hiatus in the Olympics caused by World War II, the popularity of the competitions diminished, and the last one was held in 1948. In 1952 the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (OCOG) of the Helsinki games decided to drop the arts program. However, From 1954 to 1990, the IOC asked each OCOG to organize a program of arts events that showcased the best of the host country's culture as well as encouraging international understanding. The 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico held a major Festival of Performing Arts, a festival of children's painting with entries from 47 countries, and a World Folklore Festival.

From the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, a "Cultural Olympiad" started being held to accompany the Olympic Games. Presenting an interdisciplinary program, these cultural events are organized by the OCOG during the preceding four years to each Games as well as a series of major events to coincide with the sports events. They are not connected to sport, and are not competitive, instead promoting the host nation's culture and increasing interest and enjoyment of the Olympics for attendees.

The 2012 Olympics included an extensive Cultural Olympiad with the London 2012 Festival in the host city, and events elsewhere including the World Shakespeare Festival produced by the RSC. The 2016 games' Cultural Olympiad was scaled back due to Brazil's recession; there was no published program, with director Carla Camurati promising "secret" and "spontaneous" events.

Cultural events in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were planned before being canceled due to pandemic restrictions in Japan. Instead, an alternative virtual event was held.

The term "Cultural Olympiad" has been largely replaced by "Cultural Program". Around two months before the Games, the "Culture Festival" is launched, lasting until the end of the Paralympic Games. In 2020, a new strategy was announced as part of Olympic Agenda 2020, via Recommendation 26, which aims to "further strengthen the alliance of sport and culture at the Olympic Games and between their different editions". The Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage reinforced its own cultural policy as part of this new strategy."

That is what Wikipedia says

ten ways that chess is a sport:

1. Chess is physically demanding.

Chess players do not compete based on athletic prowess, but it is essential for elite chess players to be in excellent physical shape. Games between elite players often last 7, 8, or even 9 hours. The slightest mistake means instant defeat if a player's concentration lapses. Here is World Champion Bobby Fischer discussing fitness prior to his world championship match with Boris Spassky. 

2. Chess is competitive.

Anyone who has played a chess game has felt the drive to win. The experience of sitting across the board from a fierce opponent as your clock ticks down and the game becomes more complex is as tense an experience as there is. Here is a nail-biting finale between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and his fierce rival, Levon Aronian.

3. Chess demands skill.

Elite chess players spend a lifetime honing their craft, practicing openings, studying endgames, solving studies, and much more. The regimen of a professional chess player is every bit as demanding as that of a professional athlete.

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4. Chess players practice sportsmanship.

Etiquette is extremely important in chess. Before and after every chess game, players are required to shake hands. Regardless of result, it is traditional to wish your opponent good luck before the game and to thank them for the game afterwards.

Etiquette in chess derives from a deep respect for your opponent, for their ideas, and for the fact that a brilliant game requires a worthy opponent.

Even minor breaches of etiquette can induce severe penalties such as when GM Ivan Cheparinov refused to shake GM Nigel Short's hand and was thereafter forfeited.

5. Chess is recognized as a sport.

The International Olympic Committee has recognized chess as a sport. While this acknowledgement falls shy of recognition as an "Olympic Sport" which would merit inclusion in the Games, it is an acknowledgement of the sport-like properties inherent in chess.

6. Chess is universal.

Chess is played by roughly 600,000,000 people around the world. It's ubiquity serves as a commonality between people of different languages, cultures, and backgrounds allowing an international communication and comradery often associated with sport.

7. Chess is a mind sport.

According to Wikipedia, "A mind sport is a game of skill where the mental exercise component is more significant than the physical." Chess is a challenge of the mind, but it also challenges the mind, pushing humans to new intellectual feats, and developing critical thinking and problem solving skills.

8. Chess inspires national fervor.

Perhaps the peak of sporting pleasure is witnessing your countrymen and women compete for national glory in the Olympics or the World Cup. Chess has similarly fueled people's national imaginations such as when Bobby Fischer challenged Boris Spassky for the World Championship in 1972. At the height of the Cold War, this competition between an American and a Soviet player was watched by millions around the world inspiring (in the U.S.A.) Fischer-mania.

9. Chess has doping controls.

Like most major sports, chess players in major events are tested for substances that may provide them a competitive advantage. It is debatable if any substances could aid a player. Instead, chess players are much more concerned about cheating via computer assistance.

10. Giant. Bullet. Chess.

This is definitely a sport

And also For a sport to be a sport, it needs to have, skill development, strategic thinking, a winner, dedication, discipline, and a level of entertainment/spectator interest. And chess has most of them, and even chess is not an Olympic sport, chess is recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee. However, there is a lot of debating over if chess is a sport or not, chess.com, one of the biggest and best chess app in the world also sees chess as a sport. Chess used to be an Olympic sport, but it got removed because it was a mind sport and the Olympics prioritizes sports that are physical, not mental.