Is Chess a Sport?

[Brian Towers]

I still don't know what difference does it make to all of us "chess addicts" whether chess is considered a sport or just a game?

The difference it makes is money. In countries where chess is recognized as a sport the national chess federation triples (sometimes even more) its income through lottery funding and government grants from ministries which include the word "Sport" in their titles.

[Marinel Miu]

I still don't know what difference does it make to all of us "chess addicts" whether chess is considered a sport or just a game?

The difference it makes is money. In countries where chess is recognized as a sport the national chess federation triples (sometimes even more) its income through lottery funding and government grants from ministries which include the word "Sport" in their titles.

OK now it makes perfect sense.
As far as I know in most European countries chess federations have the same status like any other sport federation (example: football, rugby, handball...).
My chess games are definitely sporty. The king is running up an down the board all the time.

[Neill Cooper]

I have only just realised that the Guardian has the chess column on its sports pages.
This is also shown by the web address for the chess column http://www.theguardian.com/sport/chess

Does any other UK newspaper do this?

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Does any other UK newspaper do this?"

The Surrey Mirror used to, until they decided they didn't want a chess column.

[Leonard Barden]

I have only just realised that the Guardian has the chess column on its sports pages.
This is also shown by the web address for the chess column http://www.theguardian.com/sport/chess

Sounds like you're not a very regular reader of my column, Neill. Chess has been on the Guardian sports pages since 1997, when it was decided to move it from the magazine section at a time when Tony Banks was the sports minister and campaigning on behalf of chess.
The weekly column (which reaches its 60th birthday today) has remained in Sport ever since and has become part of the furniture with its own slot in the printed edition above the racing results.
Being in Sport is a boon to me as the writer, since in the magazine section my deadline was a week before publication so that I could not write sensibly on ongoing events. Now, though, my deadline is late Friday afternoon so that, for example, today's column gives some results from the first day of the World Cup in Baku.

[Matt Mackenzie]

The weekly column (which reaches its 60th birthday today)

Well done indeed

[Steven DuCharme]

"Does any other UK newspaper do this?"

The Surrey Mirror used to, until they decided they didn't want a chess column.

Off with their heads!

[IanCalvert]

at a time when Tony Banks was the sports minister and campaigning on behalf of chess.

Do you think a National Chess day in 2016 is a good idea?

[John Upham]

See here

[JustinHorton]

Good Lord, it's that piece again.

[Roger de Coverly]

See here

Aspects of that paper have been challenged.
http://www.englishchess.org.uk/Forum/vi ... ?f=4&t=379

The headcount figure is an estimate of the count of people who might have played a game of chess over the last year, which could have been against an engine on their computer as the question didn't ask whether they played chess as a competitive activity. Indeed, a small survey would be likely to come up with an answer of 0, 1 or 2, depending if they got lucky with the responders.

http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.c ... f-fun.html

[JustinHorton]

Or indeed