Why is it not recognised as a sport here in Ireland like it is in other countries?

Should chess be classified as an Olympic sport?

Chess is considered a sport to the International Olympic Committee. 

Ireland does not recognise it as such unanimously.

Desmond Beattie, Chair of the Irish Chess Union, told the Moncrieff Show that the question of whether chess could be classified as a sport was down to definition. 

“It’s important to make the distinction between an activity being recognised as a sport, as opposed to the national governing body of said activity being recognised by a particular government or by the state”, he explained. 

The 105th running of the Irish chess championships will be hosted in Dublin in the first week of August. 

Ireland will host 120 players, eight teams, six teams, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and beyond, at the University of Limerick. 

Chess on a chessboard.

Mr Beattie acknowledged that the first area to explore was the objective definition of sport and physical activity.

“What is the criteria for determining whether your activity is, quote, sufficiently physical?

“Or, what do we mean by physical?

“There’s lots of different arguments around that, as in one of the largest organs in the body, which happens to be very physical, is the brain, not to be confused with mind.”

Why isn't chess considered a sport universally?

He emphasised the physical ability needed to practice chess competitively and the fact that competitive chess is under the remit of anti-doping structures such as WADA.

The structure evaluates performance, stamina to ensure that chess players are as clean as any other players. 

The assessment of chess as a sport by Ireland has “two pieces” according to the Chair of the Irish Chess Union.

Symbolic chess pieces of a chess game made of glass with a neutral background.

“The first piece is the recognition of a sport and the second question is to what extent does the Irish Chess Union, who in FIDE's view is the national governing body here in Ireland, then go and apply for recognition as the national governing body?

“We are already having a very positive conversation with them about national governing body recognition. 

“There's no public body in Ireland that can decide whether anything is a sport, whether it's chess or not. 

“The European Union has a definition, which we have transcribed intoIrish law, although it was amended within the European Union in2017.

“I would hope that the review that's being carried out would bring the Irish definition up to date. 

“The differences are small but subtle. Nonetheless, there is a definition of what is a sport, which includes a competitive element.”

Main Image: Magnus Carlsen of Norway, worlds number one ranked chess player. Image: Alamy.