Should chess be a sport and put on tv?
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"The chess channel"
I'd like to see it on television for my own enjoyment, but I doubt there's enough demand to make it worthwhile. Should chess be considered a sport? No.
Chess is equally art, sport and science--what else could be as fascinating to put on TV?
why not it far exceeds the storys they have on tv, guiding light, days of our lives etc. EEEK!!!
By that logic, should arguing with my housemate be considered a sport?
Chess takes about as much physical training as driving to McDonalds to get a Big Mac.
We need to create a toon about chess ("Hikaru No Go" style), it will increase the amount of young chess players
Amnesiac wrote: I think chess should be regarded as a sport as it is competitive and you have to train both mentally and physically to be good at it.
Without excessive physical training, how else will you be able to maintain the intimidating posture needed to win your match? ...
If you want to talk about a sport requiring mental and physical training, see Mindgame (a la Sliders TV series, S7E1 "Eggheads"). Ah, the romantic universe we wish for!
Amnesiac wrote: silentfilmstar13 wrote: Chess takes about as much physical training as driving to McDonalds to get a Big Mac.
I think the fitter you are physically, the better you will do at chess. Think about it, how many fat GMs can you think of? Whenever I have a match or tournament to play in I do much better if I go for a run in the morning. You tire less easily which is important to help you think. Kasparov used to play lots of football(Soccer), go for runs and eat healthily to do better.
Any physical excersises which may be done by some players have the goal of mental acuteness. Only when the goal of these excersizes is primarily honing physical performance can we call it physical training. In any case, to say, "you have to train both mentally and physically to be good at it" is, at best, a stretch and, at most, completely absurd.
I think Karpov said that in order for anyone to really enjoy watching an entire chess tournament they would have to have a minimum rating of 1700 or something like that.
Although I'm not sure I would use that particular cap, I do think that only people into chess would watch for extended periods of time, and there are a lot fewer people would play chess than fish or golf.
In what way? I'm drawing a distinction between physical activities. The distinction is the difference in the goals of the activity. When one is training for a chess match in the ways that you suggested, the goal is to sharpen his mind through physical activity. Any physical gains are fringe. This is mental training that happens to be done through physical activity. Since these results can be acheived in other ways, I would hardly consider it chess training, at least no more than I would consider it microbiology training, screenwriting training, or training for any other completely non-physical task.
SURE WHY NOT? IF PEOPLE CAN SIT AROUND AND WATCH A GAME OF TEXAS HOLD 'EM, GOLF, FISHING, BOWLING, ETC. I THINK THEY'D SIT AROUND TO WATCH CHESS.
YOU CAN EVEN CATCH PEOPLE WHO DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE GAME STOPPING FOR A FEW MINUTES TO WATCH AND WONDER WHATS HAPPENING. SO I THINK IT WOULD BE JUST AS GOOD AS THE SPORTS MENTIONED ABOVE, IT CERTAINLY COULDN'T DO ANY WORSE.
Amnesiac wrote:
I have a book on a tv series from the eighties called The Master Game which supposedly got alot of viewers. It had some famous players including Karpov, apparently they would show games with the players talking about what they were thinking at the time. I think it would be great to bring chess back to tv. I think chess should be regarded as a sport as it is competitive and you have to train both mentally and physically to be good at it.
I remember watching The Master Game. It was a superb prog. Yes indeed the players involved added on their comments afterwards as to what they were thinking and considering at the time. If they could bring a new version of that back it would be cool!!
I would watch it if it were on TV, but I'm not certain it would garner much attention. Martial arts has yet to have its own channel, and you would think that would be a lock. Go figure.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!!!!!!!!!!!!
It would be good for the game to have it televised, and I have never understood why it hasn't been on a regular basis.
Jan 23, 2008
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#18
Since I've never competed at top level chess I have no idea what physical demands there are on the players. However, from what I've read about top level chess they all have said that playing day after day becomes physically draining. If I remember correctly a few have even said that the physical drain has led to loss of playing accuteness.
Perhaps we will one day have a GM come in and dominate Chess the Tiger dominates golf, and wake everyone up to the benefits of staying in tip top shape to play Chess at the highest levels.
Amnesiac wrote:
silentfilmstar13, how are the goals of the training or the definitions of them in any way relevant? The fact of the matter is by physically training you can make your mental acuteness better which you state. It dos,nt matter what you call it, that is physically training.
The reasoning you used can be applied to literally anything a human does. If you have to think, even in the slightest, to do a task, sharpening your mind can only help. Therefore, doing the dishes, writing a novel, or even watching a movie requires physical training if one wants to do it well.
Okay, let's agree to disagree on that point. Even if one can train in a physical way to gain a very slight edge in mental sharpness, it is hardly required to excel. By your definition, Tic-Tac-Toe is a sport. It's competitive and requires both mental and physical training. That doesn't seem right, does it? The game of chess, itself, is not a physical activity.
It seems that, because you are a fan of the game, you are trying to qualify it somehow. Consider your logic as it would be applied to everything else. What ridiculous things, by your reasoning, would be classified as sports? You may find that your argument is impractical.
I think it should be on tv and considered a sport.