CHESS: A Sport or Just Game?

Can chess be classified a sport or just a game? This was the question my 10 year old son asked me when i started teaching him how to play chess.If you were confronted with the same question, how would you reply?

Game.

'sport' and 'game' are just words, it doesn't matter which you say; chess remains the same. You could say 'contest' or 'pasttime' or... I'll stick with game.

It is both. Like any sport, it requires discipline, training, study and practice to play it well. Like a game, it can be fun - and you can choose how seriously to play!

Chess is a ham caserole.

Well, I told my son that chess is not a sport but just a game. In sports, you got to sweat-it out.Just like a card game. However it's a different kind of game.It's a game of skill and not a game of chance.

a sport is where you go further, jump higher, move faster, than a human opponent.  A game is where there is no set victory (eg Tag) or where luck plays a significant part (eg Backgammon).  Chess is very much so a sport; Chess is humans attempting to outperform each other.

A sport is also defined by the manor of competition.  When Chess players take it seriously it is a sport, otherwise it is a game (much like bowling or volley ball).  Stick with sport, it better captures the depth of dedication possible.

No such thing as "just" a game.

sport - an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc. - dictionary.com 

Does chess fit in this description ? For me chess isnt a sport but neither is some of the things actually listed , like bowling and fishing.

if u are old enough than ur son   u  will understand the game and the sport   toingk toingk

 Well-said, JenkinsaPDX. That's why lately, when my son became one of their school's contestant for the Division-level Sportsfest, he told me that chess is therefore a sport!Although I still stick with chess as a game , I told him yes......it's a sport. . . A sports game.

 ahh I would like to say that backgammon doesn't rely on luck (small part), you can put the men (counters,discs) in such a place where is greatly improve your chance of winning and at the same time you try to diminish your opponent choices of move on his next throw.

Chess is a game.  Sports require a physical aspect and chess is mental.  Don't think about it too much people or you will find ways to make EVERYTHING a sport.  eg.. ironing, putting on pants, eating chocolate bars, doing drugs... etc.  You can always find ways to "beat" your "opponent" at anything.

its not a sport but is certainly not -just- a game. ;)

 nice try kid! just keep on sending comments and maybe someday u could grasp the main ideas behind each forum topics.....

i dont know, but its not worth this eternal discussion

Curling is considered a sport.

By definition, the defintion of a sport is broken.

Further, by the idea of physical prowess being the key, Madden 09 on a PS3 is a sport.  I guarantee people are playing that competitively and even breaking a sweat.  As well, those people most definitely have physical prowess. (controller manipulation at rates far better than you or I can achieve)

well said, ANYTHING can be competitive... heck picking your nose can be competitive with others... cleaning dishes could be a sport by this awful claim.  Competition does not equal sport.  Why is monopoly not a sport, but football is?? because maybe monopoly players don't get tackled to the ground every turn :D

My theory is that because chess is near infinite (unlimited) in possibility that this makes the chessboard akin to say a basketball court.

I think you are missing the point of what a sport is. It is more than the stereotype definition about physical activity. A sport is a game but not all games are sports. TIC TAK TOE is not a sport, checkers is not a sport, why because they are limited, there can be only a finite number of games played before they repeat.

Chess, like basketball no two games will be exactly the same. It is a competition that has no limit of choice within the rules of the game.

Fishing is too a sport!  Try wading chest high in the October North Carolina surf with a 15 foot surf rod baited up with a dual drop of squid attached to 8 ounces of tungsten and see how far you can cast it.

Try hitting a tree stump popping up in a lake in thick weed cover from 45 feet away with a half ounce plastic worm.  Now I must admit that the fish get hosed because they can't shoot back at me.  I doubt I'd enjoy fishing so much if they could shoot back.

Bowling is a sport too.

Chess for that matter is a sporting game.  You may not need to be able to run a marathon, but your health needs to be right or you could drop dead at a table from the pressure you put your mind under. 

Visualization which helps athletes also help chess players, mental training for sports etc.  There are a lot of parallels.

Kidding about the fishing a bit, though it takes physical skill to consistenly surf cast well.

Is a hamburger a fruit or vegetable?  Does it matter?  When I want one I eat it and I don't care if it is healthy or not.  Perhaps a change in diet is what I need to beat the computer.  I could feed my computer a hamburger and see if it beats me after.  If it loses that must be it!

chess was the third national sport put into play in the united states