OT: is chess a sport?
 

I think not, but then again Sports Illustrated put Bobby Fischer on its cover, and I have seen chess players included in multi-sport sets. PS since this is a card forum, here are some chess cards, including a Fischer and a Karpov from mutli-sport sets.

They put Kathy Ireland on the cover...

Agreed, not a sport. But it's a game where you need to be a genius to compete with the likes of Fischer.

It's a competition, like a spelling bee.

Wonderful game, but no, I wouldn't consider it a sport. Certainly it's physically demanding at the highest levels, but that's true of pretty much everything.

Interesting bit of trivia: Brennan's restaurant in the French Quarter is located on the site of what was Paul Morphy's home. Morphy was Bobby Fisher's choice for greatest chess player ever.

Not a sport, its a game...beautiful game at that.

I was just playing out some games from the current 2018 Tata Steel Chess Tournament before I read this post. Incredibly complicated and beautiful game, but probably not a sport. BTW, part of a world class chess player's regimen to prepare for a tournament is to get into top physical shape, as many games last four or five hours and demand great stamina. But I still feel it is a game.

Sport
 

I have my own personal rule. To be a sport, it has to have a score. Most points, least points (golf), fastest, highest, longest, whatever. Something measurable. Everything else is entertainment, that is being judged. Like gymnastics. Ice skating. Equestrian events. Gymnastics would be a sport if they two girls were each on one end of the balance beam and had to push the other one off. My daughter is a horse jumper, and I hate the judging. I think they should just keep moving the jumps up. Or joust. So does that make chess a sport? Probably not, since you wear a tie.

Score: 1-0 or 0-1 or draw is not a score?

Henry Chadwick covered chess and wrote books about it along with his baseball stuff. I know that doesn’t make it a sport, I just thought it was interesting.

Chess
 

Yep...that's why I said it sort of could be a sport. But not if you are wearing a suit. That's like a sub-rule. My kids are also familiar with my "pet rule." If I open the door to let it out, and it comes back, it's a pet. If not, it's an animal and doesn't belong in my house.

It's funny how important sports events are equated to a chess game.

They used to wear pretty snazzy outfits to play tennis.

N162 Goodwin Champions Chess card

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/K-4AA...M-/s-l1600.jpg

In 1888, Chess was considered a "sport"......

http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...sbike7xx_1.jpg




And, you had to be all gussied-up to play Tennis......

http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...nnjockoarm.jpg




TED Z

T206 Reference
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sports illustrated argument holds no weight

It says they are bowlers. Right on the cover.

I've heard the same arguments about golf. Is it a game or is it a sport?

If you walk the walk...
 

I have always liked pedestrian sports, such as competing as a pedestrian. And this professional walker sports a nifty walking stick and awesome mustache.

Brian

Based on all the aches and pains I have after each round I'm hoping golf is a sport.

Not a sport. It's a game. Just like poker.

Chess = intellectual sport

Brian - I love the T218 set and have a copy of the Edward Weston card on my shelf at work, next to several baseball cards. It's a conversation starter.

When people ask about it I tell them that the back of his card has probably the most impressive stats I've ever read on a card. Those numbers are amazing!

Ok Brad, now you should post the back of the card.....

Lets see it...

It's right there in post 18. :confused:

Didn't make the connection. Walking that far aint no thing...try doing the wonderland trail in under 24 hours.

I would agree that it's very difficult to classify chess as a sport, but that doesn't mean you can't admire the work ethic, talent, etc. of the best players in the world.
Personally, I'm a very unskilled amateur but enjoy learning about some of the all-time greats - just like baseball, basketball, football, boxing, hockey and all the rest.

A bit OT, but does anyone remember in the late 80s where all of a sudden everyone and his mother and great aunt were playing backgammon? Everywhere I looked. Everyone was playing. Tournaments. People were taking lessons.
I haven’t seen a backgammon board pulled out now in decades. (Obviously millions of people around the world love the game.)

These days, there are so-called E-sports. This often involves people playing video games...for an audience...with television coverage.

If that qualifies as a “sport” then so, too, would chess.

Just my opinion.

Never were the words truer, "You are all a lost generation."

Boomers created video games.

Anyway, I like that E-sports became a thing. Not everyone is blessed with athletic ability or an athletic body but everyone and anyone can learn how to play a video game. I can't think of a better way to make a living either.

Personally I can't stand video games but know I am about the only one that doesn't like them. Chess isn't a sport per se' but it is an intellectual game.

Does it change anything if Weston took performance enhancing stuff?

"Weston spent 8 years touring Europe, starting in 1876 in England where he challenged England's racewalking champion to a 24-hour, 115 mile ultramarathon. The Englishman quit 14 hours and 65.6 miles into the race, but Weston walked the full 24 hours and covered 109.5 miles. His performance caused a bit of a controversy when he later admitted to having been chewing coca leaf throughout much of the race."
(From his Wikipedia entry)

Also interesting is that the card shows a cross country walk, but it's not mentioned in either his entry, or a list of cross country walkers and runners. But that walk did happen.
https://www.utne.com/community/walki...a-ze0z1503zken

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN5zw04WxCc

:D:D:D

Weston is proof that a person can walk and chew a natural stimulant at the same time.

Brian

On a related front, is a jockey an athlete? Or a race car driver?

I don't consider chess a sport. I do think horse and car racing are sports, but participating in them doesn't make an athlete. It's hard to say exactly where the line is, but I wouldn't count sports like golf or bowling either among those whose participants should be considered athletes.

Chess isn't a sport, but neither is nuclear physics, brain surgery or building the Great Pyramid of Giza-- so not being a sport isn't necessarily a knock.

I work with jockeys and most definitely yes. If you disagree, try this exercise sometime...balance on your toes and then squat so your body is slightly forward, but you are still not touching the ground with your hands. Now hold this for two full minutes, about the length of the Kentucky Derby.

I'd also give props to drivers, but back in the 1970s their performance on the Superstars show left something to be desired. However I'd guess with advances in nutrition and mental stuff the current crop of drivers is probably in better shape than in the past, like with most things.

If driving is a sport, we're all athletes.

Perhaps the fact that golfers and bowlers wear street clothes contributes to that perception?

At least in golf they make the players walk the course. I wish they made them carry their own bags too, but what can you do. Anyone who's ever walked a course with their bag on their back knows you've got to be in some kind of shape to do it.

You're overlooking proper golf attire and bowling shirts, but ..........

Athletes drinking beer while golfing and bowling would be considered antithetical athletes I suppose.

As would my participation in the 1976 Olympic trials as a sailor.

What about eating 72 hot dogs in 10 minutes ?

I don't think Frank could do that. Not in his bowling shirt anyhow.

That takes some guts.

I have had lunch with Frank. I don't think he could eat more than 60 hot dogs in 10 minutes. (on a good day!!)

Sporting thoughts and revelations
 

Leon,

You know full well that we ran out of esophageal lubricant (mustard) that day.:D

When your spouse tells you to "take a hike", they are merely encouraging your pedestrian training.:cool:

I refer to my spouse as a NASCAR driver. Even though she has never driven a car with a large number on it, she always wins the race to the next exit.;):eek:

My Olympic career started and ended in the "Windy City" in 1972.

Attachment 303543

Hanging over the gunnel (also called hiking) of one of these puppies for two hours is not for the faint of heart either.

Attachment 303544

The reward for my participation was multifunctional. Not only did I become equipped for cleaning fishing, but it also was a useful deterrent for my pedestrian training in Chicago and it also came in handy for opening beer bottles before the days of twist off caps. I never used it to spread the mustard, but I could have.:eek:

When I saw the pic I assumed it was your operating room instrument of choice.

Deleted
 

Double post.