Issues on the Chess Table : Chess as Sport

Is Chess a Sport?

Our popular feature Top 10 Myths About Chess includes a pair of contradictory statements:

• Myth no.8: Chess is a sport;
• Myth no.9: Chess isn't a sport

It might be a gimmick, but we also think it's true. Ask any number of people, 'Is chess a sport?'. Some will reply immediately, 'No, of course not', while others will say, 'Yes, of course it is'. Only a few, not necessarily the chess players, might think about the question.

Most people instinctively think of chess as a game. On the About.com network of topics, the Chess topic is placed under 'Hobbies & Games', rather than 'Sports & Recreation'. We doubt that the About.com complaints department has ever received a single comment critical of this categorization.

Is chess a sport? That question is often answered with another question: What do you mean by 'sport'? The issue then becomes one of definition. How do you define a sport?

If we look at a dictionary definition of 'sport', there are a number of secondary, irrelevant definitions of the word ('he's a good sport', 'she's a poor sport'). The primary, relevant definition is something like:

A. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. B. A particular form of this activity.

This makes a distinction between sports in general ('He played sports at school') and a specific sport ('She played basketball at school'). Chess is clearly not a sport by this definition because physical activity is not necessarily involved.

Indeed, physical activity can be present in chess, especially in blitz chess (see the link to a video for a great example), but it is not a prerequisite. Two competent players can play each other blindfold, where the only physical activity involves speaking the moves. Two novice players can play each other over the Internet by manipulating a mouse, a physical activity which no one ever considers a sport ('competitive mousing'?).

Another definition of sport is something like:

An active pastime; recreation.

If chess is to be considered a sport, it is according to this definition, which includes the word 'active'. Unfortunately, the definition is so vague that it covers just about any human activity that serves as an 'active pastime': flower gardening, poetry writing / reading, and card games ranging from the most skilled (e.g. bridge) to the least (the children's game of 'war').