Is chess a sport? A question that has been haunting people, me in particular, for many years. Most would argue the immature response of "it isn't a sport because it is a 'game'". My response would be to the affect of, when two people or teams play againt eachother in a "recognized sport", what do we call that? We call that a game. For arguments sake, it is posisble to say that those are not sports because they are played in "games."

When we think of a sport, we think of basketball, baseball, and all the other nationally endorsed teams across the country. As if fate knew this issue would arise, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has rececently endorsed chess as a formal sport. Now, if it is recognized as a sport, and one still claims to refuse it, I could say that any "game" played in the olympics is not a sport. Moreover, the defntition of a sport is "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment"(Oxford Dictionary). This is the point where most people get troubled. The definition of "physical exertion" is "the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit"(Vocabulary). Most people do not consider this, but your brain is a mucle like structure, and mentally grows, like a muscle. Thus it falls under that catergory. It is a mental game, which requires logistic, strategic moves and should recieve the respect it deserves.