Story by Dawn Yip
Some days back, Red Sports received an interesting email asking us to cover chess.
Chess? Sport?
We weren't so sure. But after an afternoon of research, here is what we've learnt:
Chess is recognised as a sport by 124 governments around the world. Yes folks, that’s one hundred and twenty-four. It was included as a sport for the 2003 SEA Games in Vietnam, the 2005 SEA Games in the Philippines, and the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. And the Singapore Chess Federation is recognised as a National Sports Association under the umbrella of the Singapore Sports Council, as well as a member of the Singapore National Olympic Council.
It seems our idea of sport as sweaty physical exertion needed some updating.
There's at least one English dictionary that does not define sport in terms of physical activity, only as "competition between two opponents," said Ignatius Leong, President of the Singapore Chess Federation. This came in useful when the Federation lobbied the authorities for greater recognition. The Federation also argued that there were other sports that did not require great physical exertion, such as archery, shooting, billiards.
The 1990s was a breakthrough decade for chess worldwide. The World Chess Federation was recognised as an international sports federation by the International Olympic Council. "To be recognised as an international sport, you need to be played in at least 4 continents. You must have world championships. Then you obtain B-class citizenship," explained Mr Leong, who is also Secretary-General of the World Chess Federation. This paved the way for chess to be included in major multi-discipline games like the SEA Games, All-Africa Games, Pan-American Games, Arab Games and Asian Games. However, chess is still not an official sport of the Commonwealth Games nor Olympic Games.
Well, if it’s good enough for SSC, SNOC and the SEA Games, who are we to object? But in case you’re still not convinced, here's an opportunity to see the sport in action for yourself this March holidays. The Singapore Chess Federation and Teck Ghee Community Club will be organising the 60th National Schools Individual Chess Championships. This is one of Singapore's oldest inter-school competitions, and over 1000 students from 140 schools (including even kindergartens) will be competing. The schedule for the event is as follows:
- Dates, Time & Categories
Monday 10 March 2008 0900 - 1830 hrs Open
Tuesday 11 March 2008 0900 - 1830 hrs Open & Girls Under 15
Wednesday 12 March 2008 0900 - 1830 hrs Open & Girls Under 13
Thursday 13 March 2008 0900 - 1830 hrs Open & Girls Under 11
Friday 14 March 2008 0900 - 1830 hrs Open & Girls Under 9
Saturday 15 March 2008 0900 - 1830 hrs Open & Girls Under 7
Venue
Teck Ghee Community Club Multiple Purpose Hall, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10
And if you see the occasional chess article on Red Sports, don’t say we didn’t tell you!
i like to get membership in chess assosation.how?im study here,can i?
chess is definitely a sport!
With a host of evidence backing up chess as a sport, I believe that it should be upgraded into a colours award worthy CCA. The status quo of disallowing this is far too discriminating against chess, and has led to it having a constant low profile, despite widely recognised reports that sport has the second largest number of players after football worldwide
one of the challenges which takes place mentally. i wouldnt say that archery isnt challenging but each sport will have their push and pull factors. its like comparing a pear with an apple.
“The Federation also argued that there were other sports that did not require great physical exertion, such as archery…”
anyone who can say that has obviously not tried competitive archery…
[…] began Red Sports’ hotly debated article “The Sport of Chess". Indeed, chess barely fits the attributes of a sport. As the article points out, the mental picture […]
My point is that players constantly play chess and have to keep themselves physically (and mentally) fit as well. Also, standard chess may take up to seven or eight hours at one go, definitely much longer than taking an exam, writing reports or playing computer games (though we have heard of computer game fanatics playing up to twelve hours!).
I wholly agree that mental fitness is linked to physical fitness. But surely it stretches logic to then say anything that requires mental fitness is a sport. Taking an exam, playing a computer game, writing a report?
Incidentally, I’d love to hear what you all think of chessboxing. 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing
Oh yes, to play chess you have to have physical skill as well. It takes lots of practice to move a piece extremely fast without knocking over any other pieces and then slamming the clock with exactly the right amount of force-when playing blitz, that is. 😀
I think that mental fitness is closely linked to physical fitness. If you think too hard and too long during the game you will fall sick, just as if you play any other (more recognised) sport too hard you will also fall sick. The strain can be tremendous when you are sitting opposite a guy (for a couple of hours) who is determined to thrash the hell out of you (on the board, not physically). I just played a game today and my knees were all rubbery after it finished. This is what makes chess a sport.
exactly man! i agree with chess fan!
If you think you are sporty enough then try chess and see who is the one gasping for air!
Just a fact. Kids are going to play 8 games in a day. That means that they can be playing 8 hours in maximum stress condition.
If you think that you can do that without a good physical condition, try it yourself….
It is a stretch to classify chess as sports. Chess is an art actually 🙂
Superhiro, that’s fascinating. It’s certainly been documented that exercise/sports is correlated to better mental acuity, and I’d love to see more schools and parents take this more seriously.
But you’re not suggesting, I hope, that because great chess players do regular sports, that makes chess a sport. 🙂
FYI: Did you know that Bobby Fischer (greatest chess player of all time) swam laps underwater to build up his stamina for the chess match? DId you know he plays tennis, jump rope, ride a stationary bike and lift weights when training for a match?
His arch rival, Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union runs a couple of miles a day plus he does YOGA
To “…”, yes chess is part of a category known as mind sports, which includes draughts, weiqi and contract bridge. Another of the things I learnt while writing this piece! In fact, the inaugural World Mind Sport Games will be held in Beijing in October this year and Singapore will be sending a team of about 40 players.
It’s interesting that the IOC has recognised FIDE as an International Sports Federation for almost a decade, but chess has not yet been included as an Olympic sport. Perhaps they share some of the reservations expressed above?
“Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determiner of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport
“Founded in Paris on 20 July 1924, the World Chess Federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs, known as FIDE from its French acronym) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the supreme body, responsible for the organization of chess and its championships at global and continental levels. Following its recognition as an International Organization in 1989, FIDE was recognized by the IOC in June 1999 as an International Sports Federation.”
Source: http://www.fide.com
i agree with Ian.
Chess should not be recognise as a sport.
Maybe somebody need to come up with an new category to classify stuff like chess and scrabble into a class of its own.
i dont play chess but in case you dont know, chess is one of the most taxing mental games and you really need a lot of stamina to sit through the whole match.
Pls do not take chess lightly (btw i dont play chess – no brains and no endurance). Each chess match can last for hours – analogous to running a marathon
Let the search for Bobby Fischer begin!
I’m really surprised that so many sports associations and games committees recognise chess as a sport!
Nothing against chess… but imho, to call chess a sport is stretching it a bit! At least for archery, shooting and billiards, there is an element of PHYSICAL skill involved. But chess???
I think sports authorities over the world should really come together and agree on what is sport or not. Or else you’ll also find maths competition, scrabble or computer gaming in your next SEA games!