Chess is a sport!

"A sport, a struggle for results and a fight for prizes. I think that the discussion about “chess is science or chess is art” is already inappropriate. The purpose of modern chess is to reach a result." - Alexander Morozevich

"For me, chess is at the same time a game, a sport, a science and an art. And perhaps even more than that,. There is someting hard to explain to those who do not know the game well. One must first learn to play it correctly in order to savor its richness." - Bent Larsen

"Chess is everything: art, science, and sport." - Anatoly Karpov

Some people think it is just a game, I think it is also a hi-level sport, what do You think?

I think it's a game and not a sport - all the dictionary definitions of sport that I can find specify that there is a degree of physical exertion involved. Nevertheless, to achieve success at high levels in chess one doubtless has to have just as rigorous an approach as that taken by professional athletes - regular training, stay in good mental/physical shape etc etc.

I think that if it's competatively at some "proffesional level" then it's a sport. Many people probably disagree with me though

Sport implies physical activity.

I think the problem is more that people erroneously correlate game to kids. There is nothing wrong with the term game and it is what chess is.

Chess requires physical exertion, you need to exert to move the pieces and to endure long periods of concentration.

It is both a game and a sport.

No less of a sport than say archery which requires a pull of a string, or something equestrian where it is the horse doing the real physical work or golf which requires a stroll with someone else carrying your kit ;-)

Peace

HOWEVER===THE GAME OF CHESS HAS BEEN ACEPTED IN THE SUMMER OLYMPICS AS A COMPETITIVE TEAM MATCH

I do not think this is correct. They have tried to get chess into the olympics many times and it has always been denied. Mostly because it is not a sport.

After someone kept lobbying every year I'd probably throw them that bone too to try and make them stop for a bit.

I love chess, I think it is possibly the best game that exists. Calling it a sport is just silly in my opinion though.

People just have a stigma that a "game" is something that is foolish to spend time on as an adult and is something that can't be taken seriously. None of that is true of course, but because that stigma is there and that stigma is not there when something is called a sport people fight to have chess called a sport.

Unfortunately you can't doubt that it was due to lobbying. It was a direct result of lobbying. You can find news stories on it. 

Here is an excerpt from one:

"the World Chess Federation has been lobbying the International Olympic Committee for years to include chess in the Games. As part of its efforts, the federation even instituted drug testing to bring chess into compliance with the committee’s rules. (Players have grumbled about this, pointing out that aside from caffeine, there are no drugs that can plausibly help them play better.)

In making a case for chess, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of the federation, has said that curling is essentially “chess on ice.”

The Olympic committee has granted the federation status as a Recognized International Sports Federation, but that may be as far as things progress, some chess officials acknowledge. "