It's obviously a game. Is it an art? That's subjective. Is it a sport? I think that that's probably pretty subjective, too. I know of some activities that are generally recognized as sports, but I do not know of any concrete definition.
A question I have is, does it matter? View it how you will.
Here's my take on the whole "chess is sport" thing. I think it depends on what type of chess we're talking about. A friendly game between you and a friend, with no clocks and no stakes? It's a game, not a sport. Just like when you're shooting pool (or billiards, to some of you) with your friends at the bar (or tavern, to some of you), that isn't a sport. But top-flight billiards, played by two world-class players in front of an audience with high stakes on ESPN? Now it's a sport. I do think the same argument can be made with chess.
These are some of my thoughts from the thread 'I love chess'...!
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Yeah, it is great. One thing I love about it is the fact that luck is pretty much ruled out. Unlike other games involving dice or playing cards - which I also enjoy - chess is entirely about the decisions made, and not a game of chance.
I got a book out of the library, foolishly, in a way. It was foolish because it is a book about chess, and I can't just sit down and read it. I have to keep stopping and playing through all this frustrating notation! I dip into it now and then and it is very entertaining. It's an autobiography of a one time grandmaster called Eduard Gufeld from the Ukraine. I haven't read very much of it yet.
The reason I mention it is its title: 'Chess: the search for the Mona Lisa'. The concept is that chess can be a competitive game and a science of a sort, but there is also another way of looking at chess... Chess can be artistic. I like the idea that there can be artistic merit in a certain style of playing.
There can be a tactical beauty in certain kinds of combinations and manouevres (they are rarely to be found in my games, however; at least not by my pieces). I often find myself fantasising about fantastic combinations I could realise if only a knight was slightly differently placed, or if my opponent missed something.... Then, of course, my opponent usually unleashes some unstoppable breakthrough which sends me into abject depression...
Any other thoughts on chess as art??
'Chess problems demand from the composer the same virtues that characterize all worthwile art: originality, invention, conciseness, harmony, complexity, and splendid insincerity.'
Vladimir Nabokov, 'Poems and Problems', 1969
Originally posted by Natural Sciencehmmmm I know where your coming from but still I believe every game is art!
Here's my take on the whole "chess is sport" thing. I think it depends on what type of chess we're talking about. A friendly game between you and a friend, with no clocks and no stakes? It's a game, not a sport. Just like when you're shooting pool (or billiards, to some of you) with your friends at the bar (or tavern, to some of you), that ...[text shortened]... h high stakes on ESPN? Now it's a sport. I do think the same argument can be made with chess.