Chess as a sport???

Hello chess.com, Bestmom here for one last topic for the night. People say that Chess is not a sport while other people say it is. I believe that it is because whenever I am done playing, I feel warn out in body and mind. The mental strain makes you feel tired on the inside and outside but you are so focused that you don't realize it. What do you think people of chess.com? I will be awaiting your answers in eagerness :) Good night to all.

I suggest you search forums for this topic, it's been posted quite a few times. It never gets old though =). I think it should be classified as a sport. Many of my friends say sports must be athletic though, I'm not sure the reason for this and they have not given me one. This question has always led me though to a further question, why is it that I want it to be called a sport, I'm not really sure. Does being a sport raise the worth of chess? Anyways back to the original question, I don't think it has an objective answer.

And your absolutely right. I wanted opinions and I got an opinion. Thank you. I look at all sides of opinions. We might disagree at some places but this one I agree with :). And when it comes to athletics in sports. Playing chess is like building the muscles of the mind. It gets stronger. Both in the mind and in the body. That is why you sometimes feel tired after a game of chess.

I can imagine what it would be like, if there was a chess league or some sort of organized groups that played each other (as if it were the NFL or MLB or any other popular sport) in USCF televised games. It would be HUGE, not just limited to North America (Like NFL and MLB) because of all the strong players who would compete that live all around the world.

I believe the trouble is, there's a lot of people out there that say that they "hate chess" or that it's "boring" or "I can't stand to sit there for hours and hours" or "I don't play, I'm only here because my husband dragged me here" and all these other hater comments...they look at it as a "stupid board game." in addition to what the T.V. annoucers would be commenting on during the games in progress, speaking in terms of algabraic notation, board position, active pieces in play, tactics, strategy, and so on. The haters (which are a lot of people) whould just end up shutting it off because they don't understand all of that.

It is for this reason why I don't think it's a televised thing, there's too many people out there that are into violence, politics, drama and of course action, and looking in a room filled with people seated at tables looking down, and nearly complete silence (except for the occasion sound of players touching their clocks at the end of their moves, coughing, and so on) would drive those people crazy.

The bottom line is, if chess was as popular as the NFL or MLB, it'd probably be a nationally, possibly globally, televised sport.

Do you agree?

No. TV ratings and live audiences have nothing to do with whether any activity is a sport or not.

chess is a sport in the smaller sense. In the broader sense, it is an art or science. Maybe not like physics but like chemistry. If you refer to one of my earlier posts I argued that the evolution of chess theory is remarkably similar to the development of some advanced technology like an automobile. No one person developed the automobile and similarly no one person has developed the entire theory behind the poisoned pawn variation of the najdorf sicilian. The contribution of every individual has been miniscule whereas the cumulative is massive.

So, chess is an art or science in the broader sense. However, when two players sit down at a board, in the smaller sense, it can be seen as a cat and mouse game, or a clash of minds.

I think this is why we see this thread over and over. Tennis, basketball, etc. are considered sports even at the lowest amateur level. So, here, people want to correlate that with chess.

I think my longest game was 2 hours. However, I know of someone who had a long game like yours...when I went to a simul with IM David Lucky? Is that right? I arrived at the club at 6 at night. He was White vs. every body in the room, he beat most of us...that last game ended in a draw. Arriving at 6 and leaving at midnight is how I know the game was so freakin' long.

In sports, solos or teams compete for a win. In chess, you go for a win, or at least, that's what I think everyone does...like in sports..?

Chess is sport according to the IOC! 

TV of chess has been in the 1980'ies in Germany (WDR with GMs Helmut Pfleger and Vlastimil Hort) but has been stopped. I don't know exactly why - I guess to less interest in it ... 

I think chess should be considered a sport. at first it may not be obvious that chess requires psychical input but to be 100% mentally fit you have to be 100% prepared as in any sport. Some chess players nearly run a marathon before an important game.

 "Chess is like body-building. If you train every day, you stay in top shape. It is the same with your brain – chess is a matter of daily training. - "Vladimir Kramnik

If you admit that a sport is defined by physical activity, which I do, then clearly chess is not a sport. Or mathematics is a sport too, as well as checkers, as well as bridge...

If you define 'physical activity' by stress level as Estragon seemed to do a few posts before, then watching horror movies is a sport. I mean, stop joking.

The whole trolling about FIDE claiming chess is a sport etc. is by defining "sport" in references to the competition spirit, the fact it is exerced in the whole world by various clubs organised around one federation, etc. But even then, it means professional poker is a sport.

Now you can try to change the meaning of sport so that chess is included, but if you do so a huge deal of activities you would never have thought of will fall in that category.

December_TwentyNine, I agree fully with you but I also agree with AlCervik. If chess was televised, then it might be a world sensation if people gave it a chance but I also agree that ratings do not always mean the popularity or demise of a tv show or anything like that. I remember when Bobby Fischer played Boris Spassky for the World Championship and it was very popular when it was televised. Although it might not be on the actual tv, it is on the chess television on this website :).

Now when it comes to the chess becoming a sport or not a sport. The mind of a chess player be it professional or not, is a powerful one that takes up as much energy and stamina as running a marathon. Trust me I know. When I played against Alex Lenderman, it was tiring. The longest tournament game I played lasted about 2 hours as well and when it was over, my face was red, my body ached, my head hurt, and I was fatigued. I won by the way. But being a game of cat and mouse, that is so true! A king running away from capture, the opponent trying to get the king.

I take it that the operative word is "might". A game where nothing happens for 20 minutes at a time does not make for good viewing.

The Cold War showdown might have been watched by millions, but they weren't watching for the chess

I dont see why people are so hung up over this.

Lets say chess is proclaimed a sport, is it any better off, does anything really change?

There would be chess competitions at the Olympics.

Which would be laughed at by all the other - errr, serious - sportsmen.

There are many serious sports that are not part of the olympics.

And yeah, i agree. People seem to think it will magically make it of equal standing to football or athletics if it is called a sport.

Irontiger, thank you for your comment. I will say this. Studies have shown that people who play a chess game or a  tournament where each game lasts 3-4 hours, it is the equivilant of running a marathon or playing any type of sport.  As for trolling the FIDE. I hate it when trolling happens. I never meant for my post to be offending to anyone. I just wanted to get some opinions so that I can further expand my knowledge. I thank you for your opinion though :). Happy playing my friends.

No, you got it wrong, it is not you ; I accuse the FIDE of trolling by its claim that chess is a sport, because FIDE claims it regularly. It trolled the IOC so hard asking that chess could be part of the Olympics and as a backfire they were asked to put in place the antidoping controls most professional players facepalm about.

As for your "studies have shown..." : I would like to see these studies. Yes, chess requires intense concentration effort, which takes some physical exercise, but not as much as a marathon. The ratio of time spent to get the same effect in say number of calories burnt should be (rough guess) ten to one or less.

Obviously, if you add all the tournaments some serious players does in a year, it makes more 'exercise' than a single 100m sprint, but that's the same as claiming that the horses you have seen weight more than the whales because you saw thousands of horses and only one whale.

Archery is an Olympic sport that doesn't need intense effort...