Persuasive Essay Chess

Chess is a Game, Not a Sport The debate about whether chess should be considered a sport is ongoing. However, I found little to support the stance that it is a sport in the course of my research. In the essay, “Chess, Imagination, and Perceptual Understanding,” by Paul Coates, he states that, “[c]hess is sometimes referred to as a ‘mind-sport’. Yet, in obvious ways, chess is very unlike physical sports such as tennis and soccer; it doesn’t require the levels of fitness and athleticism necessary for such sports” (211). Academic journals typically focus on the art, strategy and skill of chess, with little to support why it is classified as a sport. Gary Alan Fine and Harvey Young write in “Still Thrills: The Drama of Chess,” “that games share much in common with theatre and are performances”(88). Though many chess players prepare for tournaments by staying physically fit or by partaking in sports such as rowing, tennis, or weight lifting (Fine 332), the game of chess, itself, is not a physical activity. The mind is working overtime, “but some activities---and chess is one---depend on inaction”(Fine 332). Therefore, I will argue that chess is a game, not a sport, because it does not fulfill the definition of the word ‘sport’. I will show that it holds more in common with mathematics and art than it does with athleticism.
Second, the Olympic Committee was forced to forfeit a part of the definition of ‘sport’ to allow the World Chess Federation to continue to be recognized. And, finally, that the vocabulary surrounding chess is more mathematical and theatrical than it is athletic. This means that the definition of ‘sport’ should be changed to encompass all activities that are given its title, to avoid this kind of long-term debate. It is clear that chess is a competitive marathon of skill and strategy but because it is not defined properly the debate will