A blog by Jai Aggarwal from Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram
What is a sport? A sport is an activity in which one person (or a group of people) compete against another person (or a group of people) in a setting which involves either entertainment or recreation with the purpose of a result or an outcome. A sport involves competition, and the players need an adequate degree of training and talent to compete at a reasonable level. Now let’s take the analogy of chess, which often finds itself in the midst of this debate.
Chess involves a competition between two people and it requires some degree of training and talent. When some people think of “sports,” they think about the characteristics mentioned above, plus a degree of physical skill. And in fact, the physical skill some people expect is not just any physical skill, but one involving speed, strength, or some combination of the two. I agree with that logic and therefore believe that chess is a sport of mental strength, mental stability, and focus. Quoting Vladimir Kramnik, a former world chess champion – “Chess is like bodybuilding. If you train every day, you stay in top shape. It is the same with your brain- chess is a matter of daily training.”
Speaking of the rules in a sport, every sport has a unique set of rules, and they have to be strictly followed in order to play a fair game. The same is true for chess. Chess also has a set of rules, and they have to be followed in order to play. In chess, you must respect your opponent, act mentally tough, enjoy the wins and learn from the losses, follow etiquette, and rules and lastly have fun. All these rules are to be strictly followed and taught in all sports. Chess has been recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee since 2000, though it is yet to be included as an “Olympic sport”. The ‘European Universities Games’ conducts the European University Chess Championship and athletes who are enrolled in a university are eligible to compete. In North American, the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship is the foremost intercollegiate team chess championship, and it is held annually. Even in India, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) conducts the All-India Inter-University Chess tournament for men and women annually.
Chess is played around the world irrespective of age, race, gender, income, or language. People with physical disabilities play chess. Even blind people play chess. It is game of people, a unifying force which puts everyone at par without letting the limitations imposed by any disability, age, caste, religion and boundaries interfere.
In Chess, the rules are clear and the “hand” of the opponent is also clear during all points of the game. Let’s take an example of ‘poker’, in poker, you don’t know the cards of your opponents, and additional cards are added to the game (on a random basis or luck). Chess is not about luck; it is about skill and exploitation of a situation. Chess is tactical. It tests you in every way, challenges you and prepares you for the tough situations like any other sports. And that’s one more reason why I firmly believe that chess is a sport.
