What is chess? Is it sport?

 Chess requires absolutely no skill, other than the ability to move the pieces. This is one of the main reasons that it is not viewed as a sport.

I think chess could be classified as a sport. The only thing that might hold it back is how physical it is, but all sports are a combination of the mental and physical.  Lets look at it this way. Sprinting is a sport. It may seem that it is entirely physical, but talk to anyone who is top of their field in it and they'll talk about the mental aspect too. At lower levels, not so much. I believe chess is a mirror to that. At lower levels, it appears to be nothing but a mental exercise, but at the top tiers you need to be taking care of your body as well. Eh, it could go either way.

 Obviously these are generalizations.

 I agree with chess not requiring any skill but couldn't that be said about most sports too then? Like running for example it doesn't take any skill besides the ability to put one foot in front of the other wich for most people is alot easier than moving chess pieces.

Chess is a board game.  It is a highly complex board game with basic rules simple enough that even an extremely novice player (like me) can play it and enjoy it.  It can be played with almost infinitley increasing levels of skill, and at the highest of these levels it presents a degree of intellectual challenge absent from virtually all other board games.  But it's a board game, chess fanatics.  To argue that it is a "sport" because it has "most of the attributes" of a sport or because it "is considered so"  is the exact same level of logic as me saying, "I am a howler monkey, because I have most of the attibutes of one (I am a primate, I can climb things, I can grip with my hand, I am an omnivore) and, besides, I am considered to be a howler monkey by the little group with which I associate."

If you define Chess as a sport, then Scrabble, Risk, and Backgammon are also sports.  Sorry...but they meet all of your criteria as well.  Maybe they don't sound as smart...but neither do you when you try to argue that a board game is a sport.

technically? yes.

Public opinion? no.

 Chess requires absolutely NO SKILL??  So, if skill is not a factor in chess, then, I suppose, I could simply play a person like Kasparov or Fischer and win?  There is no skill in chess, so everyone should play exactly the same.  Chess requires mental skill, and it annoys me that you automatically classified skill as a physical connotation.

chess is a sport

ice skating? definately not

I don't think it is a sport. Sports are physical games, chess is a mental game. Just like poker is a mental game, in that someone is probably mental for watching it on ESPN. (Sorry, I had to say it.) 

I got into chess so that I would be swarmed by adoring women.  I figured women like athletes.  Now I find out that chess is just a game.  This explains a lot.

Paul

"So, if skill is not a factor in chess, then, I suppose, I could simply play a person like Kasparov or Fischer and win?"

Kasparov no, fischer yes... 

 Not at all!

Most sports do require a tremendous amount of skill. Sprinting takes a lot less skill than, say hitting a 90 mph pitch; but then, the athleticism required is much higher than for a ballplayer. Either way, I think running 20 mph takes more skill than moving chess pieces. A small child can move a chess piece without tipping it over, probably before they learn how to walk.

 I am very sorry I annoyed you. The sole aim of my post was to please you, and, in failing to do so, I find myself deeply remorseful.

As mentioned earlier, this definition of a sport allows for many absurd additions to the catergory.  By that definition, watching television, whittling, posting in internet forums, and origami are sports.  Do you accept that definition?  I don't.  The physical preparations that some, yes, some, GMs make are merely that.  They are preparations for a non-physical game.  The actual game of chess requires only enough physical ability to repeatedly move chess pieces.  I'm sure that even that isn't necessary.  I would think that FIDE would allow a designated piece mover for a physically handicapped player.  No physical ability is necessary; it's not a sport.

chess is a board game!!! people get caught up in making the silliest issues. i agree it is mentally demanding but so is monopoly when you have no money and still have to go around the board hoping someone lands on your property. i've noticed sports require some form and coordination. how coordinated do you have to be to move a piece? how much form does it take? get real those of you that sit on your butts and call chess a sport. its a board game!!!!!