A more interesting question would be not whether or not chess is a sport, but rather what are the sporting elements of chess (organized competition where practice and preparation make a difference, for example) and what are the ways chess is distinguishable from the normal understanding of sport as a physical activity?
Is chess a sport? Ending the debate
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That's better. A whist drive or a contract bridge night fits the bill nicely doesn't it.
Dominoes at the local pub? Pies and mushy peas all round.
Apr 10, 2024
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#1945
lfPatriotGames wrote:
Optimissed wrote:
Trexpunch1 wrote:
IS CHESS A SPORT
Yes. Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games such as xiangqi and shogi.
Yes. Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games such as xiangqi and shogi.
Obviously you haven't given any argument as to why you think it's a sport. Actually, nobody who thinks it's a sport gives good arguments but you haven't even tried to give an argument.
Well he sort of gave a reason. It's a board game. So it's a sport like chutes and ladders, Monopoly, and, Sorry.
Aside from the fact that I played both chess and Sorry at the youth center when I was ten, these two have almost no relationship to each other. Has there ever been a Sorry tournament? A Sorry coach? A single book on how to improve at Sorry?
I read a book on Monopoly in the 1970s. Monopoly has tournaments. There your slope is less greased, but it’s still a poor comparison.
The best comparisons include contract bridge and backgammon. Both are games involving chance and with a strong skill element. However, duplicate bridge is purely skill and involves no luck at all. It's a game typically played by many age groups including the elderly and rather infirm. One could say, with accuracy, that duplicate bridge is the card games equivalent of Chess960.
Ziryab wrote:
A more interesting question would be not whether or not chess is a sport, but rather what are the sporting elements of chess (organized competition where practice and preparation make a difference, for example) and what are the ways chess is distinguishable from the normal understanding of sport as a physical activity?
Yes, that is probably a better question. Maybe more interesting. I would agree the "sporting" elements could be organized competition. But I don't know how much chess worldwide is played organized. Practice and preparation also are important, but that's certainly not exclusive to sports and games.
I would say one of the main things that distinguish chess from sports isn't necessarily the physical activity but rather the physical participation. Some sports and games require very little physical activity. But all sports require physical participation. Chess, and a few other board games, do not require physical participation.
Ziryab wrote:
lfPatriotGames wrote:
Optimissed wrote:
Trexpunch1 wrote:
IS CHESS A SPORT
Yes. Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games such as xiangqi and shogi.
Yes. Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games such as xiangqi and shogi.
Obviously you haven't given any argument as to why you think it's a sport. Actually, nobody who thinks it's a sport gives good arguments but you haven't even tried to give an argument.
Well he sort of gave a reason. It's a board game. So it's a sport like chutes and ladders, Monopoly, and, Sorry.
Aside from the fact that I played both chess and Sorry at the youth center when I was ten, these two have almost no relationship to each other. Has there ever been a Sorry tournament? A Sorry coach? A single book on how to improve at Sorry?
I read a book on Monopoly in the 1970s. Monopoly has tournaments. There your slope is less greased, but it’s still a poor comparison.
I don't know if there are Sorry tournaments, although the game can be played with teams. And because there is a limited number of people that can play at once, a winner of one game can go on to play the winner of another game. I'm also not sure a tournament, or coach, is required for something to be a sport. I'll bet there are people who have played golf who have never once played in a tournament, or been coached. Same with books. I don't think anything written about golf makes golf a sport. It's the act of hitting the ball into the hole that makes it a sport.
Yes. Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games such as xiangqi and shogi.
Obviously you haven't given any argument as to why you think it's a sport. Actually, nobody who thinks it's a sport gives good arguments but you haven't even tried to give an argument.
Well he sort of gave a reason. It's a board game. So it's a sport like chutes and ladders, Monopoly, and, Sorry.