Chess is NOT a sport!!!

I wonder how many calories a grandmaster burns during an important match...  I bet it's a heck of a lot more than what you'd burn watching the game, although to outward appearances, the level of physical effort would look about the same.  I think that those who consider chess a sport (and officially speaking, we're talking dozens of nations) are simply open to a broader definition of 'exertion' than the nay-sayers. 

And to argue that this exertion is something other than physical is tantamount to saying that the brain is somehow a thing apart from the rest of the body - like it runs on magic or something. 

A couple of responses:

To the many people who said, "chess is physical because you move the pieces, so it's a sport," according to that argument, anything is a sport.  Would you claim that eating, reading, or getting dressed are sports as well?

 And to Cheater_1: I'm not sure that there is any one exact definition for "sport."  Wikipedia and World Book's definitions don't say that physical activity is a must, whereas dictionary.com's does require it.

How long have most of you been on the internet?  DO NOT FEED THE TROLL!  If you beat him logically, he wins.

if the following exerpts don't clarify the issue as to whether the definition of "sport" needs to
be limited to physical sport -  then consider the entymology of the word, and the general and specific
uses of the word

as far as I am concerned people who choose to restrict the use of words, phrases, conventions,
protocols, etc are free to do so - history teaches that people who are too dogmatic are often later bitten by their own prejudices - dbw

"Some will never learn anything because they understand everything too soon."
Thomas Blount (1618–1679)  an English antiquarian and lexicographer.

"If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance." - Orville Wright (19 August 1871 – 30 January 1948) engineer and aviator

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http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sport
sport (spôrt, sprt)
n.
1.
a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.
b. A particular form of this activity.
2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.
3. An active pastime; recreation.
======
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
Main Entry: 2sport
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
1 a: a source of diversion : recreation b: sexual play c (1): physical activity engaged in for pleasure (2): a particular activity (as an athletic game) so engaged in
2 a: pleasantry, jest b: often mean-spirited jesting : mockery, derision
3 a: something tossed or driven about in or as if in play b: laughingstock
4 a: sportsman b: a person considered with respect to living up to the ideals of sportsmanship <a good sport> <a poor sport> c: a companionable person
5: an individual exhibiting a sudden deviation from type beyond the normal limits of individual variation usually as a result of mutation especially of somatic tissue
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http://encarta.msn.com/thesaurus_561588777/sport.html
 sport (n)
 Synonyms: diversion, game, amusement, hobby, pastime, entertainment
Antonym: work

 I'm a cross-country runner, and I don't quite agree with you that chess is just as hard (though I'm better at running than chess so maybe at higher levels it is)

Chess is not a sport. People will just have to find some other way to make them think they are atheletes.

People who are saying that you burn all this energy playing chess must not have played in real sports in their lives. It's not good enough just for GM's to burn all this energy, but anyone who plays chess should. 

I think if you restrict 'sport' to meaning physical activity, then chess isn't. But that isn't fair. It's based on the fact that MOST sports are physical. What about NASCAR? Fishing? Competative video gaming? All sports in their own way, yet you won't find anyone there running around, jumping, passing a ball etc.

789159

In the 1984 WC match between karpov and kasparov, the entire match was cancelled due to the diminished health of the two players. Karpov lost 10kg over the course of the match! That is a lot of exertion, if you ask me, plus they were both utterly exhausted at the end.

Admittedly I don't know how this compares with running, but still, I reckon chess is worth considering as a sport.

From the first post:

Physical activity: Energetic action or movement pertaining to the body as distinguished from the mind or spirit.

As a neuroscientist, I do find it interesting that people 'distinguish' the mind from the physical substance of the body. 'The mind' is what the brain does, and the brain is a physical organ. Thus, 'the mind' is a physical activity.

As a linguist, I'll submit that there is no 'right' answer to semantic arguments (i.e.: "Is chess a 'sport'?"), so don't worry about it!

  That would be the little note saying I'm not very good at chess, so I don't know how much effort is spent a GM level.  I have, though, run less than 10 miles and burned over 1100 calories (and I'm a student...I only weigh 110 lbs.-about 50 kilograms)

chess is a mind sport, handball is a physical sport.

As yourself a neuroscientist, is the brain the same as like the muscle? " if you dont use it you lose it" is that true?

Its more like a little note saying I have no method of comparing the energy levels used by the two activities. Although perhaps I should have used a broader term, such as 'physical activity', rather than 'running', in my post.

I'm pretty sure I can be good at chess and still not know how much energy a GM uses in a game of chess mind you.

how about this for a deep thought > Chess is...( wait for it )... Chess

and so insightful a statement that it works for most activities
Nascar is Nascar
Baseball is Baseball
Golf is Stupid
Running is Running

To link another thread.

Rugby is War!