That is an excellent point. And while I'd like to say that chess skills should count in those other variants, the reality is very different. Playing an experienced shogi player simply won't pan out too well for a chess player.
Olympics & Chess
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Oct 1, 2020
0
#3
The IOC recognised chess as a sport in 1999 & it was an exhibition event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Viswanathan Anand (India) vs Alexei Shirov (Spain) played a two-game match in the athlete's village. Result ???
Bobby Fischer said in an interview with Dick Cavett (pre-1972 vs Spassky) that Classical chess was a young person's game with games up to seven hours testing mental plus physical stamina.
Oct 1, 2020
0
#4
I think it will never be in the olympics. If chess, then why not backgammon? If backgammon, why not poker? If poker, why not bridge? If bridge, why not scrabble? If scrabble, why not risk?
Though the line is blurry, chess is more of a game than a sport. You can talk about endurance, but that’s true of all complex games played over hours. That’s a can of worms that the IOC just doesn’t want to open.
Though the line is blurry, chess is more of a game than a sport. You can talk about endurance, but that’s true of all complex games played over hours. That’s a can of worms that the IOC just doesn’t want to open.
First off, I love poker, but poker is the furthest thing from sport. Poker earns its awards in the gambling category. Poker is the champion of gambling games. Gambling can never be a sport, but it's just as great.
Chess on the other hand is one hell of a brain drainer. It's extremely demanding, physically and mentally, and it takes years upon years to improve at, yet alone master, which is whom the Olympics would be interested in, masters of the game there to try for your gold medals, silver medals, bronze medals, wooden medals...
Oct 1, 2020
0
#6
I am not a fan of the idea personally. I know some people get up in arms about the definition of a sport, but I really don't see how athleticism plays a part in the game
A sport is a game worthy of athleticism. And athlete is a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.
Chess boxing meets these requirements.
Let's take a look back in time... how did the Olympic games begin?
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Gods & War
In the ancient world, gods were an integral part of social functioning. There were gods for hunting, gods for war, gods for water, pretty much everything. Another integral part of human life back then was war, especially the threat of neighbouring invasions as they were quite commonplace in the ancient world, and still are perhaps.
Athletes were also commonplace back then, they were your hunters, your soldiers, pretty much any field of work that required athleticism. Amongst these athletes some of them truly excelled in their respective fields and came to be associated with the gods of said fields. They became champions.
As cultural development proceeded to advance, so did the looming threat of war. It is here that things began to change for gifted athletes. As it has always been in the fsce of danger, people would soon need something to believe in, a strength that would give them hope in their nation's capacity, as well as hope in the gods abilities to influence the mortal plain. The athletes would slowly come to be celebrated, and they would represent the strength of each town, city, village, etc. They'd also serve as a reminder of the hand of the gods.
The Olympic games naturally came about, throughout time, as a way to prove said champions, and as a form of festival or public celebration.
Chess being a game of great strategy, I believe would have found its way into the Olympic games at some point had it been as prevalent and as prestigious at the time.
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Chess has long since been known as the game of war. It doesn't merely represent miniaturized war on a board, but it also represents a militaristic way of thought. Chess may be viewed today as a scholarly sport, but it has always in the past been enjoyed by war officials, as well as caravaners who knew the ins of war just as well.
But that's not all there is to the game. The spatial relativity involved in chess represents a business mindset. Which supports the belief that chess was created by traders and caravaners, whom required the skillset found in chess to survive the business life back then.
Early Chess
You may not see it on your favorite sports channel, but chess is an official sport worthy of even the prestigious Olympic games.
But would the ancient Olympiads approve of, say rapid and classic chess, or would something like chess boxing take the forefront? Remember, we're talking about the Olympics and not the colosseum.
Personally, I'd like to think blitz would take the cup. Don't speed games at the park embody the spirit of Olympic chess? The crowd, the entertainment, the attacking style, the time pinch...