Is Chess gambling?

Originally posted by Dragon Fire
According to the OED the following is a (slightly shortened) definition of gambling -
1. to play games of chance to win money;
2. to risk or bet on the outcome of an event;
3. to act with the expectation of (eg to gamble on it being a sunny day);
4. to lose by or as if by betting;
5. a risky act or venture;
6. a bet or wager.

Clearly (in my opin ...[text shortened]... es it a risky act and a risky act is a gamble.

Oh dear - I thought chess was a game of skill!

1. Poker is a game of chance.

Chess risky? I don't think so! You lose you lose. It not like your playing for the money.

Originally posted by RahimK
I already wrote that in a previous post after someone asked me. Its there somewhere. Don't have time right now.

I see you guys calling it gambling chance well then to me chance is part of gambling.


Is there chance in chess? Not really.

In poker yes, the cards you are dealt. Thus poker is gambling to me. Chess isn't gambling to me.

You haven't read my previous post.

There is little point on comparing chess to poker.

But by definition gambling, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, constitutes the taking of a risk and you need to compare chess to other skilled activities and decide in chess is the player taking a risk.

If he is then by definition he is gambling. If he is not then he is not gambling. Simple really!

Originally posted by RahimK
1. Poker is a game of chance.

Chess risky? I don't think so! You lose you lose. It not like your playing for the money.

When you cammence a game you accept a risk of losing to a lower rated player.

By definition if you take a risk you are gambling.

Chance has nothing to do with this. You cannot compare chess to poker!

Originally posted by Dragon Fire
When you cammence a game you accept a risk of losing to a lower rated player.

By definition if you take a risk you are gambling.

Chance has nothing to do with this. You cannot compare chess to poker!

I did read your post and yes you can't compare chess to poker. They are two different things but since someone mentioned it I started a thread about it.

From your post above Chess = risk= gambling.

Soccer = risk= gambling
Hockey = risk = gambling

Italy/ France accepted the risk of losing to the lower team Italy/France.

If you believe chess is gambling then soccer, hockey and every other sport is gambling. What is the difference between them?
I don't believe that.

There is always a risk in everything. You took a gamble coming to work/school today. You could have been hit by a bus, fallen down etc..
Everyones a gambler!

Originally posted by RahimK
I did read your post and yes you can't compare chess to poker. They are two different things but since someone mentioned it I started a thread about it.

From your post above Chess = risk= gambling.

Soccer = risk= gambling
Hockey = risk = gambling

Italy/ France accepted the risk of losing to the lower team Italy/France.

If you believe chess is ga ...[text shortened]... o work/school today. You could have been hit by a bus, fallen down etc..
Everyones a gambler!

Absolutely life is a gamble!

I started off here thinking

poker = chance (people gamble on it)
chess = skill (not chance therefore no gamble)

How wrong I was. I looked up the meaning of gamble in a good dictionary. It equates gamble to risk. Whenever you take a risk you are gambling. Sometimes the risk is great like mountain climbing.

And yes when you play football you take a risk, therefore you gamble. Swen took Rooney to the World Cup (he gambled on his metatarsal being healed, he gambled on him being back to form, he gambled on him not losing his temper and getting a red card in a crucial game). With every tackle they made players took a risk of getting a yellow card, giving away a free kick or worse. Risk = gamble!

So the only matter that needs to be established in "Do you take a risk playing chess?" If yes its a gamble! If no chess is not a gamble! Answer that question and this thread is solved.

Hey All,
If someone pays money to play chess in a tournament and intends to take money offered as a prize for a place finish, then that is gambling. What is being gambled is the money invested into winning later. The money invested can end up producing no return; and the winning new money depends on what the investor does during his or her game series. It isn't gambling to compete; but it is gambling when money invested intending to win money or another prize is involved.

The original poster may have been asking about what is gambling due to a religious or spiritual concern. Therefore, the issue has more importance in that case.

P.S. What makes Poker gambling is when money is invested to win more money or another prize. It is not the cards that make Poker gambling.

What do you all think?

If you think soccer and hockey and other things are gambling sports then chess is also.

This is getting old now. Let's move on.

The reason poker is gambling is because you cannot see your opponents hand... if you could see their hand you'd know your exact chance of winning, but since you only know your hand you only know the chance of which card may come up, and therefore its a gamble to bet on your own hand without knowing what your opponent has.

In chess, you can see your opponents "hand", therefore every move can be calculated and the only risk is assuming that you know what your oponent will do.

Originally posted by KingOnPoint
Hey All,
If someone pays money to play chess in a tournament and intends to take money offered as a prize for a place finish, then that is gambling. What is being gambled is the money invested into winning later. The money invested can end up producing no return; and the winning new money depends on what the investor does during his or her game s ...[text shortened]... oney or another prize. It is not the cards that make Poker gambling.

What do you all think?

I don't think chess is gambling in a religious sense.

However if taking a risk is defined as a gamble (and it is according th OED) then chess could be a gamble but no more so than any sporting activity and life in general. You take a risk crossing a busy road so you are gambling that you won't be hit by a car.

If there is a religious issue here then I think the original poster is quite correct in defining chess as a game of skill not a game of chance like poker.

Originally posted by Dragon Fire
I don't think chess is gambling in a religious sense.


If there is a religious issue here then I think the original poster is quite correct in defining chess as a game of skill not a game of chance like poker.

Correct!

K enough of this discussion.

How about that head butt eh? France - Italy