Chess is a sport

Note | Thanks for your patience. I am looking forward to debating and I wish my opponent good luck. This is the first time I'll use the style of premise(s) and conclusion and I am really excited to see if I can handle it. Argumentation Structure | I'm very pleased with the definitions my opponent provided for me, as I hesitated to bring them myself in the light that the definition is rather central for this debate and it felt like providing myself an advantage by providing the definition myself. I did not expect that there would be an equal focus on whether chess is a game but I am also willing to deal with that aspect, as my opponent wishes. Basic Fulfilment of the Definition Premise 1 - physical exertion includes the biological entity of the human body Premise 2 - mental exertion is physical exertionPremise 3 - chess causes physical symptomsConclusion - chess is an activity that leads to physical exertionAdditional Thought - Chess as a gameBasic Fulfilment of the Definition | Chess already fulfills most of the definition for sports without doubt.- it's an activity - it requires skill as it is trainable- teams and individuals can compete against each other- it's for (some people's) entertainment and pleasureBut chess fulfills also the last part of the definition as chess, against common believe, does include physical exertion, as will be shown in the following: Premise 1 - physical exertion includes the biological entity of the human body | Physical exertion does not only include muscles. A broken arm is a physical damage that has nothing to do with muscles. Many forms of Headaches, even when caused by stress, can be treated with medicine and "pain killers" which cause actual chemical reactions to happen in the human body. Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, is an actual chemical ammonium acetate solution that cause actual reactions in the human body, as it is also used to treat non-mental-related pain issues such as cramps [1].Premise 2 - mental exertion is a physical exertion | The human brain and brain chemistry are biological units within the human body, therefore any exhaustion caused by the human brain can be seen as part of physical exertion. "Mental" exertion is therefore wrongly fully separated from any physical exhaustion, as thinking is not a mystical but a biological process (or better a series of processes) in the human brain. Premise 3 - chess causes physical symptoms | To quote Robert Sapolsky, a neuroscientist, on chess:"You have two humans, and they are taking part in some human ritual. They are sitting there silently at a table. They make no eye contact; they’re still, except every now and then one of them does nothing more taxing than lifting an arm and pushing a little piece of wood. And if it’s the right wood and the right chess grand masters in the middle of a tournament, they are going through 6,000 to 7,000 calories a day thinking, turning on a massive physiological stress response [...]" [2]For anyone who doesn't usually read the backside or just consumes food that does not have nutrition facts printed on, 6,000 calories are about three times as much, as an average human usually burns during a day (without exercise and with average thinking-behaviour). Chess therefore results in a increased energy use within the body (which is already a physical symptom) but can also trigger stress reactions such as ringing in the ears, rapid heartbeat and tense muscles [3]. These are symptoms that are equally encountered by other athletes such as football players. Conclusion | As the activity of increased thinking during a chess game is physically exhausting, due to increases chemical process in the brain, chess can be regarded as physically exhausting therefore the activity of chess includes physical exertion. Which means chess fulfills fully the given definition for sports. Additional Thought - Chess as a game | Sports and Games are not separate things. As shown, is chess a sport. And it also a game as the act of "attacking" the opponents pieces is a clear act of attacking with the aim to hinder the opponents performance. With traditional ball sports, such as football or volleyball, chess shares the characteristic of being a game (by allowing attacks) and a sport (by being a physically exhausting skill based competition). Yet people have different reasons for engaging in the activity. Children's focus for playing football usually lies not in the mere skill performance but in the pleasure that they gain during the game. Adults meanwhile do also play to show off their body control and fitness. But whether we call the activity "playing a game [of chess]" or "doing sports" is not relevant as long as both phrases are correct, which is, in terms of chess, correct. Sources | [1] http://www.medicinenet.com...[2] http://news.stanford.edu...[3] http://www.webmd.com...