Petition to Make Chess A Sport

Oh. I forgot this forum must be serious and we have to be arguing at all times. Sorry. Won't happen again

I am not offended by any of this. Why would I be?  I just see it as pointless.

Some people think chess is a sport, some don't.  I don't care. 

I might start to care if some sporting body  starts to interfere with my chess playing life.  FIDE already mandates WADA's rules for any competitions eligible for FIDE rating.  That means, for example, that  Cannabis is a banned substance during competitions.  How absurd.  It is not performance enhancing.  Quite the opposite.  Sporting bodies are not supposed to implement the anti-drug laws of various governments. They are supposed to ban substances that are either performaqnce enhancing, or definitely injurious to health.

The pointlessness of any topic can be seen as offensive to anyone who wishes for productivity. It is not the topic that seems pointless, but the debate within. Therefore, I shall continue this topic (I really don't have a choice) and see where it leads. The topic is still alive, and disagreements continue.

it already is

What do the governing bodies of chess say? We already know what the dictionaries and encyclopedias say. But what about THE authorities on chess?

FIDE Handbook. The Laws of Chess, Article 1, Rule 1.1. What does it say?

What about the USCF? The Rules of Chess. Chapter 1. What does it say?

Chess.com is a pretty big chess website. They have weighed in on the topic. What do they say?

Wouldn't all games, including chess, be a "sport of the mind"? Isn't that exactly what separates games from sports? Games-mental. Sports-physical. I agree chess is a "mindsport". All games are. 

I disagree that chess is merely a sport of the mind, although I phrased it that way because I hadn't yet come to the conclusion of what to call it. Unlike other games, chess possess the strikingly similar attributes of a normal sport, and all mental skill manifest physical skill. We also stick to the definition and say that chess involves physical exertion. Chess, like many other activities, lies in a hazy zone between game and sport for most people. Nowhere does it state that all sports must involve physical skill, so we must let go of this idea.

"so we must let go "?

You can let go of that idea if you like.  I will make my own decisions.  There is no logically compelling "must" about it.

You called it that because it's the only way to associate chess with sports. Same way we could associate Scrabble or Soduko with sports. It's a mental pursuit, not a physical one. So to call it a "sport of the mind" is the best we can do. We certainly can't call it a physical sport. We can't call it a formal sport. We can't call it a traditional sport. If we want to use the word sport somehow that's the best we have. 

And actually, in almost ALL references and definitions it does in fact say sports must involve physical skill or physical participation of some kind. That's kinda the whole point. It's the physical part that makes a game a sport. 

It seems if we both mangle the definition of sport and unreasonably overplay the physical aspects involved in chess, chess can indeed be considered a sport. 

!!!

If you prefer to continue with the idea that physical skill is essential for a game to be a sport, you can. 

definitely A sport

I obviously agree.