Is Chess gambling?

You pay the entry fee to play in a tournament and win some money. Do you think this is gambling?

Do you consider chess different from poker in terms of gambling?

You pay money to enter a golf tournament and win prizes, do you think golf is gambling?

Originally posted by RahimK
You pay the entry fee to play in a tournament and win some money. Do you think this is gambling?

Do you consider chess different from poker in terms of gambling?

Originally posted by dottewell
Wasn't it banned in 1979 in Iran for this reason?

[edit: http://www.askasia.org/teachers/essays/essay.php?no=82]

Originally posted by DoctorScribbles
It has been banned in many Middle Eastern countries for that reason.

When darts was first invented it actually went to court, as the English licensing laws require that there is no gambling on licenced (ie for the sale of alcohol) premises. Its inventor showed that there was enough of an element of skill involved in the game to avoid the law see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darts and look at history, and so if darts isn't gambling then I think that chess escapes on the same grounds.

it's possible to gamble with chess, like the park hustlers. in effect, they make a bet on the outcome of the game. it's an oral contract.

in chess tourney, you pay an entry fee, which is in no way attached to the outcome of the games. you might get a prize or not, but it's still not attached to the entry fee. the tournament could even be free to enter, and still have prizes.

I think the difference is in the unwritten contract.

there probably is room for philosophical debate, but I think the religious interpretation of gambling is about preventing you of hustling others or destroying your own well-being, not about contract law.

Originally posted by Redmike
Which other countries have banned chess?

Originally posted by DoctorScribbles
Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan...

Originally posted by dottewell
Yeah, but they didn't call them the TabiBAN for nothing!

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Originally posted by wormwood


in chess tourney, you pay an entry fee, which is in no way attached to the outcome of the games. you might get a prize or not, but it's still not attached to the entry fee.

Originally posted by DoctorScribbles
I don't think you know what you're talking about.

The prize pool of every major USCF event

Originally posted by wormwood
most people are not u.s. citizens.

Originally posted by DoctorScribbles
You made a universal claim about chess tournaments having prize money unrelated to entry fees. USCF tournaments serve as a counterexample that demonstrates your claim to be false.

It depends on what you mean by gambling-- the word has two meanings. The broader one is any game that you play for money. But I think more commonly the term is used to refer to games with an element of chance or uncertainty-- something outside the control of the players. Chess would qualify under the first definition but not the second.

Once chess was frequently played with dice (for example, you might roll a die that would tell you which piece to move). I believe that one of the reasons the dice fell out of favor was an attempt to avoid ecclesiastical laws against gambling.