Chess is sport!?

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Hello
Why is chess classified as a sport?

[Stewart Reuben]

It depends on the country. Barbados, Germany yes. Britain, USA no.
I have no idea about Iran. But, if yes, don't argue. It is usually advantageous.
If your personal definition requires physical activity. Thne it is not a sport for you.
Look up your dictionary ad decide what it means. One of the best known is the Oxford English Dictionary. It has many definitions of the word, some of which are contrdictive.

[Roger Lancaster]

Many definitions of "sport", including OED, include "physical exertion" as one component. This works against chess yet it's probably fair to argue that the physical exertion required to move a chess piece is, for example, no less than the physical exertion required to squeeze a rifle trigger yet shooting is widely regarded as a sport, including for Olympic purposes. That's not to denigrate the skill involved in shooting but to indicate that defining a "sport" is a subjective process. As Stewart has already pointed out, different countries take different views.

Another, more pragmatic, factor is money. Many sports (including 'wannabe sports') require outside funding and, since such sources of funding are to some extent limited, different sports are effectively competing against one another for this cash. It makes no commercial sense for established sports to allow the 'wannabes' into their midst since this intensifies the competition.

[Simon Rogers]

It should be.
It most European countries it is classed as a mind sport.
If Chess was classified as a sport, it might be eligible for Lottery funding.

[Roger de Coverly]

If Chess was classified as a sport, it might be eligible for Lottery funding.

Perhaps, but most Civil Service bureaucracies, not least HMRC, insist that it isn't. It's yet to be tested, but if any chess player was banned by WADA, would such a ban be legal in the UK?

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Perhaps, but most Civil Service bureaucracies, not least HMRC, insist that it isn't. It's yet to be tested, but if any chess player was banned by WADA, would such a ban be legal in the UK?"

I'm not sure HMRC are the main obstacle. Isn't it DCMS? WADA are so disorganized that I doubt anyone takes much notice of them. (I was pondering contacting them and saying, "Pay me and I'll correct all the stupid mistakes in your drugs list.", so my previous sentence ensures I wouldn't get that job.) FIDE memorably only banned people for refusing drug tests if they were regarded as "unimportant" players. I'm not sure any sports take drug abuse very seriously. And I don't think chess is a sport.

[Roger de Coverly]

I'm not sure HMRC are the main obstacle. Isn't it DCMS?

VAT is the issue for HMRC as "sports" are mostly exempt. DCMS doesn't want to hand out grants.

[NickFaulks]

FIDE memorably only banned people for refusing drug tests if they were regarded as "unimportant" players. I'm not sure any sports take drug abuse very seriously.

We may be going round in circles, but who has actually been banned?

[Roger de Coverly]

We may be going round in circles, but who has actually been banned?

Don't you remember the 2004 Olympiad in Calvia? After that FIDE seemingly backed off from attempting anti-doping tests on lower rated players.

[Kevin Thurlow]

I remembered it was an Olympiad, one player was banned from FIDE events for refusing a test, but the ban conveniently ended just before the next Olympiad. The strong GM who refused a test wasn't banned at all. His excuse was that he didn't understand the request, but his opponent had translated the request into Russian for him, so that falls down...

In fairness, athletics, tennis, cycling, rugby, cricket, football etc have done similar or worse things.

[NickFaulks]

We may be going round in circles, but who has actually been banned?

Don't you remember the 2004 Olympiad in Calvia? After that FIDE seemingly backed off from attempting anti-doping tests on lower rated players.

Of course I remember that very well. If a player is unaware that they have been banned, and they continue to play games which are submitted and accepted for rating, in what sense have they been banned?

If a tree falls in the forest....

[Stewart Reuben]

Roger >It's yet to be tested, but if any chess player was banned by WADA, would such a ban be legal in the UK?<

FIDE is recognised by the IOC as a sport. Thus a ban may be upheld in FIDE events, even if held in Britain.
I thought Shaun Press's principled stand against a random drug test was foolish. He agreed when he found out that all his points had been taken off the PNG team score. Now. he is a senior official in FIDE and he is joining with me and Alex Mcarlane on a histoy of the Laws of Chess.

An excuse was found not to ban Ivanchuk when he did not submi to a drug test. Jon Speelman was a eamber of the committee that decided to 'let him off''. They only test medal winners no at Olympiads.

I think drug trests for chess are rather stupid and futile. It was just that FIDE were keen to be recognised as a sport by the IOC.

[Mike Gunn]

Wasn't Tony Banks (Minister of Sport in the 1st Blair government) just about to declare chess a sport when he was replaced by someone else?

[David Sedgwick]

Of course I remember that very well. If a player is unaware that they have been banned,and they continue to play games which are submitted and accepted for rating,in what sense have they been banned?

If a player has been banned for whatever reason, but games played by the player are submitted for rating, surely it is your responsibility, as Chairman of the FIDE Qualification Commission, not to accept those games for rating. That would still be the case even if the player claimed to be unaware of the ban. Igors Rausis couldn't get his rating back by claiming to be unaware of the FIDE Ethics Commission's decision (could he?)

[David Sedgwick]

Wasn't Tony Banks (Minister of Sport in the 1st Blair government) just about to declare chess a sport when he was replaced by someone else?

Not quite. Lord Stratford (as he became shortly before his untimely death) announced in the House of Commons that the Government had agreed to recognise chess as a sport, but he was unable to secure Parliamentary time for the necessary legislation. That remained the situation when he was replaced as you indicate.