CHESS: A Sport or Just Game?

 maybe not the way you play monopoly.

It depends on who plays. If I play-the ches is game,if you play-it may be sport but if Topalov and Anand play-IT IS THE PUREST ART.

that makes sense. coz' anything that's done almost to perfection can be classified an art.!so it might be safe to say that chess is a game for sport-minded artists....

game,

but we can classify it with the brain sports like the crosswords ... or the hiddenwords

There are many words we bandy about that we think we know what they mean - music, poetry, democracy and so on - but when we start to think about them we find it is trickier than we thought to define them satisfactorily. Obviously some attempt at a definition must be made if the question Is chess a sport? is to be answered. I shall not attempt a definition, but simply suggest that any definition must be inclusive as well as exclusive.

Take the following two lists:

List A: Football, bowls, tennis, athletics, ice-skating, snooker, archery - all of which involve both physical activity and competition.

List B: Fighting a battle, an essay competition, two companies competing for a contract, a piano competition, running for a bus, coal mining - some of which involve physical activity, some of which involve competition, some of which involve both and none of which are generally considered to be sports .

Any definition of sport needs to include what is in List A, but exclude what is in List B. I cannot help feeling that any definition that is not over long, and contains no tautology that sweeps up chess, is going to exclude chess.

Further, if we accept that the items in List A are typical sports and ask whether chess is ejusdem generis, I think the answer has to be "no". Whilst the competitive element is present, the physical is entirely absent. You cannot play any of the sports in List A by correspondence or on your mobile phone. Whilst a knowledge of mechanics and geometry (usually acquired practically rather than theoretically) is necessary to play snooker, you still need to judge where to hit the cue ball with your cue and how hard to hit. No such judgement or physical skill is needed to play chess. You do not even need a chessboard. A chess game can be recorded exactly on paper; anyone who understands the notation can play it through. The fact that you may lose weight during a chess tournament or play better at the highest level if fit is entirely coincidental. Losing weight and performing better if fit may apply to anything in List B.

Hi guys,

This definition from Wikipedia;

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 determinant 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. Some view sports as differing from games based on the fact that there are usually higher levels of organization and profit (not always monetary) involved in sports. Accurate records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced in sport news.

We're a sport!

Watch your backrank.

I would direct them to a8 on this chess board:

 Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

That would include war and dealing on the stock exchange

Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome (winning or losing),

That would cover a pub brawl.

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)

That is no more than saying that the term is sometimes used to include activities that some people do not consider to be sports, which is not very helpful.

Surely a significant factor in defining a sport has to be that you are at least at the same venue as those you are competing against. This is not necessary to play chess.

It does all depend on how “sport” is defined, but it seems to me that chess is only called a sport because it is seen as a way to get it funded or because those who play it fancy themselves as sportsmen. Neither seems a very good reason to classify it as a sport.

HOW MANY CALORIES DO YOU LOSE WHEN PLAYING?

It depends upon one's physique, the length of the game, how much food and drink is consumed during play, and many other considerations. But, generally, during serious competition, the calorie expenditure can be significant.

Calories are consumed while you are asleep. Sleeping is not a sport.

This again?

Here's how this works:  If you can't play it without spilling your beer it's a sport.

Now wait a minute -- I've spilled my beer while sleeping.

Does tiddlywinks pass the beer test?

Chess is not a sport my friends.  If computers are considered the best in the world, it is not a sport.

Chess is on the list of recognized sport of Olimpic games:

http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/recognized/index_uk.asp

So is bridge.  I  mean, really... bridge?

I never tire of this topic.

It really begs the question: Is arguing on the Internet a sport?

"Chess is in its essence a game, in its form an art, and in its execution a science."  ~ Baron Tassilo