Art or Science?

Chess is not an art because it does not express or communicate anything.

Chess is not a science because it does not provide new knowledge or any explanation of the world.

Chess is not a sport because it is purely intellectual.

Chess is a game.

your definition for art doesn't work. what does the Mona Lisa express or communicate? a painting of a woman smiling.

Art (there is beauty in some chess games), Science (due to the reduction to mathematics as expressed by engines). Sport (it is played as a team event). Of course it is a Game above all but that does not explain why I hate to lose at it compared to say losing at monopoly which does not bother me at all.

art reason: watch game six of the 1972 world championship with Robert James Fischer vs Boris Spassky.  

Just because something is beautiful does not make it a work of art. Many consider butterflies, Mount Fuji, Euler's identity and their girlfriend to be beautiful, but none of them are works of art.

Just because chess can be analysed does not make it a science. Billiards and games of patience can be analysed, but they are not sciences.

Just because chess can be played by teams does not make it a sport. Quizzes and charades may be played by teams, but are not sports.

If you want chess to be an art, science or sport you have to come up with a definition of art, science or sport which clearly includes chess, and then look and see if your definition encompasses something you do not consider an art, science or sport.

game six Robert James Fischer vs Boris Spassky. not art but a painting of a woman smiling is.

Weak definitions and conclusions.

People have often talked about "beautiful chess" games or attacks reminding them of Odysseus and the Trojan Horse.  So there is a degree of art.

As a graduate degreed former industrial and academic research scientist, how can you claim no new knowlesge comes from chess?  The basic ideas of attack and defense in chess can be applied to military studies and follow the scientific method of observation, hypothesis, ex[eriment, and conclusion.  In chess, Silman says look for imbalances.  Cavalry General N.B. Forrest used to say, "Hit 'em with the mostest where they have the leastest."

If Chess was purely intellectual, physically fit players would not have the strong advantage they do.  If you're played in a 5-round/1 day OTB regular-rating tournament, you are usually fighting exhaustion by the time the last round comes around, even if you're a teenager.

Yes, chess is a game. So is football. So is improvisational music.

I have not offered any definitions.

What people are doing is homing in on one aspect of what art/science/sport is and ignoring others. Their arguments go like this:

A work of art is a thing of beauty. A game of chess can be a thing of beauty. Conclusion: chess is an art. Problem: Not all things of beauty are works of art and a work of art is more than just a thing of beauty. Consider: Is it really the case that a game of chess is the same sort of thing as a painting in the Louvre, a poem or a symphony?

Similar arguments are advanced for making chess a science or sport. Is chess on a par with physics, zoology or geology? Is the same sort of activity as tennis or running the marathon?

It comes down to definitions. We all have an idea of what amounts to a sport, art or science, but when there is a discussion about what each actually is we find that classification is trickier than we thought. All I am saying is that any argument that chess is a sport/art/science does rather strain the generally understood idea of what those things are. The fact that the questions are asked and asked often shows at the very least that the answer is not immediately obvious. No one asks: Is football a sport? Is chemistry a science? Is sculpture an art? And whatever chess is it surely cannot be all of an art, a science and a sport.

If anyone wants chess to be included in the category of sport, art or science then would they please let us have a definition of sport, art or science. We can then consider the definition to see what else it covers. If it covers job interviews, shopping or writing letters to the newspaper they need to go back to the drawing board.

my definition of art: a thing of beauty created by a master of the works. for example the Mona Lisa was created by a master of painting and people do consider it as a thing of beauty. game six of the 1972 world championship with Robert James Fischer vs Boris Spassky. is also art as it was created by the masters of the works and people with eyes consider it as a thing of beauty.

Chess is food for the brain.