[techieMoe]

Originally Posted by solman66

Although there aren't as many possible moves in checkers, there is still a very high skill level needed to play it at competative levels.

You remind me of someone I used to work with. He was the reigning Checkers champion for his county or something to that effect, and he swore that chess and checkers were not "just games". For me, I'm not interested in either since I play games to have fun, nothing more. I don't play to compete, or "broaden my mind" or any such thing. I just play games because I need something to divert my mind for a certain period of time and I want to enjoy doing it. The Merriam-Webster dictionary's first definition of "sport" is "a source of diversion". If you follow that, I'm quite the athlete.

and yes i'm fully aware that i'm going to get hammered for admitting this....

Or were you hammered WHEN admitting this? Hmm... the world may never know.

[genesus]

I have to agree with those who argue that chess is a sport, any serious player knows that it can be shear exhaustion!!!

[Tetsuo]

BAZMAN: How important is physical activity preparation and control for key matches?

Kasparov: I pay a lot of attention to my physical condition; to be fit under the terrible pressure of big competitions. Obviously this is becoming more important with age.

That's from an interview done with Kasparov, you can read the full text here

Chess may not involve the kinds of physical contact between competitors that say soccer or rugby does but in terms of the mental and physical fitness needed to compete in a high level tournament, you are approaching near marathon readiness. So we have all the elements of a "sport" present in chess; physical exertion, rules, competition..what more do you need? Unless you want to stick to some androcentric definition of sport as involving people bashing each other up in various and sundry ways...

Can you imagine how much sugar Kasparov burns in the course of a match? All that thinking takes lotsa energy!

[techieMoe]

I think it's amazing that I (along with the rest of the people on this thread) am actually taking the time to debate this topic. Will the world end if chess is declared "just a game" or "actually a certified sport"? Probably not. But it's sure been interesting to hear what people think. :P

[mechmaster]

chess is definantly a sport, if it has tourniments it must be nothing less than a sport

[techieMoe]

Originally Posted by mechmaster

chess is definantly a sport, if it has tourniments it must be nothing less than a sport

Well, if you follow that logic, Rock Paper Scissors is a sport.

http://www.rpschamps.com/

[solman66]

Originally Posted by techieMoe

Well, if you follow that logic, Rock Paper Scissors is a sport.

Yeah thats some interesting stuff. I first saw the world champion of rock paper scissors about a year ago. It blew my mind

One of the college book stores around here is having a contest, where if your name is drawn you get an all expenses paid trip down to participate in a rock paper scissors contest :P

Oh.... and by the way, using that logic we get many other sports... such as Unreal Tournament, Half Life, Madden, etc...

[sarumont]

/me looks at the title/poll.
/me thinks vi vs. emacs.

This has been done like everywhere...and it's just like vi vs. emacs. No one will ever decide.

I personally think that it is. It can be quite exhaustive (mentally) to play a good game of chess. And the pressure in competitive chess?

I think that anything that involves only the mind can be considered a sport. Math Olympics is a prime example.

People just need to start getting more specific:

Physical sport
Tech sport (CS, UT2K4, etc.)
Mind sport

[it-s]

(* talking in a dumb-stupid voice *)
Of course chess in not a sport! Cos it does not involve me pumping irons, running, screaming, kicking everyone, or banging my head at the wall. Things that does not involve showing off my beautiful gigantic muscles are not any sport!!! Besides the other apes.. uhh, I mean sportsmen say it is not.
(* jumps up and down, up and down to show everyone how sporty he is *)

A sport for your mind is as important as a sport for your body for without the second you are still a human, yet without the first you are nothing but a dumb animal.

[hafnium]

personally, i think it is a sport. a sport doesn't have to be physical to me, it can be mental.

while we are on this topic, if you wouldn't want chess as an olympic sport because it is not physical. what about chessboxing? it has a physical aspect to it also, so it surely would be considered a sport by most. check out http://www.wcbo.org/ for more information.