It is probably wisest to say that chess is a game with artistic,
scientific, and physical components. But chess is not science, nor is
it art, nor is it sport....

Of course boxing has been called "the sweet science".....

If you learn from it then it`s a science.

If you compete then it`s a sport.

If you create sth artistic during the play then it`s an art.

If you are involved in chess politics here then probably you are from the
USCF :-)

"irvin" wrote in message
...

Yes, Cat, those are games and also sports. Chess is just a game (a
beautiful one, btw).

Kasparov, Botvinnik, and Moore had a physical exercise routine which they
thought gave them an edge. Athletes because their game relies on speed.
Chess players need endurance but not so much athletics. Sports games
generally have a time control, sudden death feature, and chance (chaos). So
does chess. Just because a person's athletic ability is not the dominating
advantage in competition shouldn't rule it out as a sport.

wrote:
But one thing I always wondered, since we humans think by analogy: what
sport does chess most resemble, if it were classified with the physical
games?

My thought has always been baseball, but I am sure others will somehow
find offense with that....

I tend to think that Alistair Cooke had a good point when he likened
American football to chess. There are definite similarities.
Just as chess has pieces with different moves, so football has
players with different sizes, skills and roles, with rules limiting
their powers (e.g. linemen are generally ineligible to receive passes,
and may not go downfield before one is thrown).
In both, play starts from a set opening array, though football is
more like FischerRandom in the variety of formations it permits. A
team's style can be expressed in chess terms: a ball-control team is
like a careful positional player, while a wide-open passing team is
like a flashy gambit-playing attacker. Like a serious chess game, a
serious football game is rigidly timed.
And the mental part of football is very important: coming up with a
good game plan can be as complex and intricate as devising a chess
strategy and calculating combinations.
The analogy of course is imperfect, but I can't think of a physical
sport that's closer to chess.

On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 15:12:13 -0400, "Catalan" wrote:

"irvin" wrote in message
...

Yes, Cat, those are games and also sports. Chess is just a game (a
beautiful one, btw).

Kasparov, Botvinnik, and Moore had a physical exercise routine which they
thought gave them an edge. Athletes because their game relies on speed.
Chess players need endurance but not so much athletics. Sports games
generally have a time control, sudden death feature, and chance (chaos). So
does chess. Just because a person's athletic ability is not the dominating
advantage in competition shouldn't rule it out as a sport.

And athletes like Bogoljubov and Tartakower would never have achieved
their world-class status without proper physical conditioning.

" I tend to think that Alistair Cooke had a good point when he likened
American football to chess." (Niemand)
==========
Yes, football. I have trouble defending against the McKay variation of
the Student Body Right opening.

Old Haasie

BrotherNehoc wrote:
All of the following have been said:

Chess is a game. Chess is a sport. Chess is art. Chess is life.
Chess is a passion.

So I ask, what is chess to you?

Best "Chess" Regards,
Larry Cohen

What I think chess is I wrote in a column in 1989 on the old defunct
THE LINC (the first online chess site). Here it is, in its entirety.
Although some of the statements in it are dated, I still believe in it
today:

THE CHESS SCENE
by Mike Petersen

"What Is Chess?"
January 12, 1989

How many times have you had the discussion about whether chess was a
sport or a science or maybe even an art? It never seems to get
resolved, no matter for how long or with whom you discuss it. As a
matter of fact, the people who have played chess the longest always
seem the least likely to have a definite opinion on the matter. I
think I know why that is. I think it's because they have been exposed
to so many facets of the game that they see a little of each
of the descriptions in it.

There have been lots of attempts to describe just what chess is.
Fischer said that chess was his life. Lasker said simply, "Chess is a
fight." This is undoubtedly true. But that seems too trite to me.
How come it is that chess can be so relaxing, yet still be a fight? I
mean, when did you last get into a fight you came away from relaxed and
feeling satisfied? There is an old saying that says chess is a sea in
which elephants may bathe and gnats may
drink. This is also true. You can play a blitz game for fun, or sit
for hours trying to work out the intricacies of a rook and pawn ending.
There is another old saying that says chess, like love, has the power
to make men happy. Also true. Then there is the simple description
that chess is a game, nothing more, nothing less. But I don't agree
with that. So how is it that so many disparate statements can be
descriptive of the game...and all at the
same time?

Of course, it's no wonder we can't describe chess very well. We can't
even get the most powerful computers in the world to play perfect
chess. We don't know if, with best play, chess should be a win for
white or a draw or anything. Lots of stories about chess have been
built around just such a theme. It gives rise to another description
of the game, that chess is a mystery. I don't think chess is a
mystery, but sometimes it seems that way.

I'll tell you what I think chess is. It's a multi-faceted game that
can only be described that way. In other words, different parts of the
game can be described in different ways. My definition of chess is as
follows:

The STUDY of chess is a science.
The PLAYING of chess is a struggle, a fight, a sport.
The APPRECIATION of chess, of a beautiful combination for example, is
what makes chess an art.

Anyone who doesn't see all the facets of the game can never appreciate
it for what it is. I feel sorry for the player who doesn't take the
time to study the game, for he misses the scientific portion. For
those who no longer play, they miss the sport of it. And for those who
no longer go over the games of
the grandmasters to appreciate the pure beauty of the game, well, they
miss the mystery of the game, the art of chess.

However, I feel the most pity for those who never learned the game.
For they have missed it all.


Regards,
Mike Petersen

wrote:
" I tend to think that Alistair Cooke had a good point when he likened
American football to chess." (Niemand)
==========
Yes, football. I have trouble defending against the McKay variation of
the Student Body Right opening.

I was long partial to the Fouts-Chandler variation of the Coryell
Attack. Before that I favored the Hadl-Alworth line of the Gilman
Gambit.

Fair enough, Cat.

You think it's a sport; I, like most people, don't think it is a sport.
We'll agree to disagree.

--
Irvin
-------------------------
http://www.pixel69.com


"Catalan" wrote in message
...


"irvin" wrote in message
...

Yes, Cat, those are games and also sports. Chess is just a game (a
beautiful one, btw).

Kasparov, Botvinnik, and Moore had a physical exercise routine which they
thought gave them an edge. Athletes because their game relies on speed.
Chess players need endurance but not so much athletics. Sports games
generally have a time control, sudden death feature, and chance (chaos).
So does chess. Just because a person's athletic ability is not the
dominating advantage in competition shouldn't rule it out as a sport.

On 21 Aug 2005 15:09:48 -0700, wrote:


What I think chess is I wrote in a column in 1989 on the old defunct
THE LINC (the first online chess site). Here it is, in its entirety.
Although some of the statements in it are dated, I still believe in it
today:

THE CHESS SCENE
by Mike Petersen

I also posted articles on Leisure Linc. Do Leisure Linc archives exist
anywhere? I think there is a lot of valuable material there. Leisure
Linc was in existence around 1987 to 1990, before rec.games.chess
existed.

Dawn, who married and then divorced Don Maddox, was the administrator.

Sam Sloan

"Jerzy" wrote in message
...
"BrotherNehoc" wrote
So I ask, what is chess to you?

Chess is FUN ! :-)


That's explain why you looks like clown.