Is chess a sport or not?

[midg3333]

how about the scoring? All the sports that I know have some form of scoring to see who wins and how much they win by. In chess, there is no such thing. Sure, you can count your pieces, but just because you have less pieces doesn't mean you are losing. You could be in a much better set-up than the opponent. In sports, there is an obvious winning team and losing team, and you can tell who's winning throughout the entire game. For example, golf has scores, tennis has scores, volleyball has scores, soccer/football has scores... chess... you can only really decide whether someone is winning if they are quite far ahead.

[Helios]

how about the scoring? All the sports that I know have some form of scoring to see who wins and how much they win by. In chess, there is no such thing. Sure, you can count your pieces, but just because you have less pieces doesn't mean you are losing. You could be in a much better set-up than the opponent. In sports, there is an obvious winning team and losing team, and you can tell who's winning throughout the entire game. For example, golf has scores, tennis has scores, volleyball has scores, soccer/football has scores... chess... you can only really decide whether someone is winning if they are quite far ahead.

Though humans (unlike computers) cannot determine precise, concrete scores for positions, experienced players can easily discern the nature of the position, and whom possesses an advantage (if any), by reviewing all the relevant factors.

[Daytripper]

I think that's a fair observation, though I'm not sure it makes a difference. It just means it's harder to follow. Nowadays powerful computers are sometimes giving winning combinations in a quiet room, while the players have no clue. 

I'm not sure soccer is any different. How many games are 1-0 or 0-0 during half time? A lot can happen in one half. Typically a game is not considered safe until it is 2-0 or 3-0 with one half or less to go.

Many chess games are won because a pawn or a piece is lost half way. In this regard, chess and soccer is the same.

Compensation is not so easy to see, actually. Most positions are lost when you're over 5 points down. But, if you have attacking chances while you're a piece or two down, the position can be very unclear. Maybe you cannot find the best attack, or the opponent doesn't find the best defence. Behind the board it is sometimes impossible to tell who is better, even for a grandmaster. (Not talking about positions that are rougly equal.) I have to say these are exceptions. Usually if I grab a game I can tell during some point the balance is starting to shift.

But again, I have to say, that is normal. Are you absolutely sure who is winning a soccer match 20 minutes before the end, by looking at the field? Keeps it interesting.

[Drawckab]

Chess a sport?  Ha!  Shouldn't this be in "Humor"?

Chess is a game.  If you want chess to be a sport you have to play it like this:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing)

[Sir Valimont]

Really, an entire thread about semantics?

You can define "sport" however you want. If you're talking about physical activity, then of course chess isn't a sport. If you're defining the term more loosely as a competition then of course it could be (just like 1000 other things).

It's not a matter of respect or lack thereof as to whether chess "should" or "shouldn't" be considered a sport -- it's just a matter of your definition.

[tyranim]

olympics calls it a sport, i call it a sport.

[9jacob4]

chess is kinda between the two subgects

[natasha9211]

according to me sports is some thing which is relates to physical activities thats why i dont think that chess or poker like games are a sport

[Thalas]

Chess is not sport.

From czech wikipedia

Defining

There are three important limitations:

    * It is a physical activity, which excludes activities where it competes only with psychic abilities or luck - such as board games (go), computer games or gambling
   
* Activity has clear rules on how to compete - it excludes from the sport as war
   
* The competitive nature of the activity - for example, it excludes non-competitive martial arts run by philosophically oriented way or yoga

sorry for bad english

[Appawesome]

From czech wikipedia

How do we know that you didn't just edit wikipedia?

[ddevans96]

excludes activities where it competes only with psychic abilities or luck - such as board games (go), computer games or gambling
   

While some board games are purely luck, chess requires entirely skill.

From czech wikipedia

How do we know that you didn't just edit wikipedia?

Because you can view the history and find it was last edited three weeks before this post

[xKelevra]

People are trying to get it considered a sport. Iirc, a few years ago, people were trying to get chess to be part of the summer olympics.