The Petition to Make Chess a Sport in Canada

[Olga Mushtaler]

Hello everyone, the petition to make chess a sport is up on the House of Commons website. The primary goal is to include chess in government funding for sports (we are excluded). Please sign if you agree and share with others. Thank you.https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/P...etition=e-4283

[Fred Henderson]

"Chess is played nationally by millions of Canadians,", says the petition. Any data or market research to support that? If "millions" of Canadians already play, then why the need for a big effort for it to taught in schools? Sounds like it's already being done elsewhere, no?

[Olga Mushtaler]

Fred Henderson good question. The sports funding info is accurate. 'The millions of Canadians' is an estimate. If you do the research and give me an accurate number of how many Canadians play chess, would be wonderful.

[Roger Patterson]

Fred Henderson good question. The sports funding info is accurate. 'The millions of Canadians' is an estimate. If you do the research and give me an accurate number of how many Canadians play chess, would be wonderful.

some number of decades ago (mid 1980s?) the CFC commissioned a survey to answer that very question. I believe the motivation was the same as it is now, to convince government of the merits of funding chess. Jonathan Berry used to have the results up on his website although I think that is defunct now.

From memory, I believe the answer is yes - millions of Canadians play (or know how to play) chess.

[Fred Henderson]

Fred Henderson good question. The sports funding info is accurate. 'The millions of Canadians' is an estimate. If you do the research and give me an accurate number of how many Canadians play chess, would be wonderful.

Why should I do the research and give it to you? You're the one pushing us to sign for taxpayer funding of chess, you make the case. the fact that the gov't funds athletics to improve the health and fitness of Canadians thus lowering the burden of health care costs hardly justifies the same for chess, at least not to me.

[Olga Mushtaler]

I saw GM Eric Hansen and his team yesterday and they all agreed and signed. Jeff, and Kevin also. Aman wasn't there. :) I love Toronto.

[Fred Henderson]

some number of decades ago (mid 1980s?) the CFC commissioned a survey to answer that very question. I believe the motivation was the same as it is now, to convince government of the merits of funding chess. Jonathan Berry used to have the results up on his website although I think that is defunct now.

From memory, I believe the answer is yes - millions of Canadians play (or know how to play) chess.

I don't suppose the survey asked these "millions" whether THEY wanted chess to be funded?

As for ...,

• Chess has all the attributes of a sport, <snip>

No it doesn't. Playing sports improves physical fitness, which is why they are funded, to improve the physical fitness of Canadians, and thus lower the cost of universal health care for all. Obviously playing chess does nothing whatsoever to improve physical fitness

[Ian Findlay]

I don't suppose the survey asked these "millions" whether THEY wanted chess to be funded?

As for ...,

• Chess has all the attributes of a sport, <snip>

No it doesn't. Playing sports improves physical fitness, which is why they are funded, to improve the physical fitness of Canadians, and thus lower the cost of universal health care for all. Obviously playing chess does nothing whatsoever to improve physical fitness

I would argue that chess improves mental fitness. According to News Digest
'Chess has been proven to increase your IQ, improve memory function, help develop higher levels of creativity, simultaneously exercise both sides of the brain, help prevent Alzheimer's and dementia, and increase a child's problem solving skills.' I think mental and physical fitness are both very important.

[Bob Armstrong]

I'm sorry but I don't have a source for this....but.......

There was a study done of GM's in high tournament play, wired to monitors. The goal was to determine the amount of PHYSICAL energy a GM used over the course of a tough tournament game.

I don't remember the exact result, but the energy used was comparable to Olympians in training.

Stupid not to have archived that one........anyone else remember this, or have a source?

Bob A

[Bob Armstrong]

I found a few things:

1. Over the course of an intense multi-day tournament, a chess grandmaster could burn up to 6,000 calories a day, Robert Sapolsky, Stanford professor of neurology and neurosurgery, told ESPN. Some players in this elite category find that they lose weight after a competition.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/22/ches...ing-games.html

2. Is chess physically demanding?

Chess is physically demanding. Chess players do not compete based on athletic prowess, but it is essential for elite chess players to be in excellent physical shape. Games between elite players often last 7, 8, or even 9 hours. Chess grandmasters can lose 10 pounds

https://www.chess.com/article/view/is-chess-a-sport

3. Chess grandmasters DO NOT burn 6000 calories a day.

https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comme...alories_a_day/

4. In terms of heart rate, breathing, energy consumption ('calories'), and other biometric indicators, what are the typical physiological responses of the human body to an important, high-level classical chess game?

https://chess.stackexchange.com/ques...vel-chess-game

~ Bob A (T-S/P)

[Fred Henderson]

I would argue that chess improves mental fitness. According to News Digest
'Chess has been proven to increase your IQ, improve memory function, help develop higher levels of creativity, simultaneously exercise both sides of the brain, help prevent Alzheimer's and dementia, and increase a child's problem solving skills.' I think mental and physical fitness are both very important.

News Digest??? What about the American Society of Paediatrics, or the World Health Organization? Neither of them have anything at all to say on the matter.

I'm sure studying Bridge improves mental fitness, so does studying linear algebra. I'm sure that if you study linear algebra, it will exercise your brain and thus improve your chess skills. There maybe correlation, that don't mean cause and effect.

[Fred Henderson]

I'm sorry but I don't have a source for this....but.......

There was a study done of GM's in high tournament play, wired to monitors. The goal was to determine the amount of PHYSICAL energy a GM used over the course of a tough tournament game.

I don't remember the exact result, but the energy used was comparable to Olympians in training.

Stupid not to have archived that one........anyone else remember this, or have a source?

Bob A

So what? Just because you burn energy, that don't mean it has physical benefit. Screaming and yelling at the top of your lungs burns lots of energy to, but it won't make you fitter or healthier

[Stephen Wright]

some number of decades ago (mid 1980s?) the CFC commissioned a survey to answer that very question. I believe the motivation was the same as it is now, to convince government of the merits of funding chess. Jonathan Berry used to have the results up on his website although I think that is defunct now.

From memory, I believe the answer is yes - millions of Canadians play (or know how to play) chess.

From the wayback machine at the internet archive:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150110...y5868/gall.htm

(https://web.archive.org/web/20150110...y5868/gall.htm)

[Fred Henderson]

Here's an article from Neuroscience news. A couple of quotes...

"The greater the intelligence and the more tournament games played, the greater the playing strength. In addition, there was a correlation: Intelligent players benefit more from the same amount of practice than less intelligent players,” explains Roland Grabner from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Graz."

"The ability to recognize patterns is especially important in chess. If you can access memorized constellations of pieces, possible moves and game sequences more quickly, you have a clear advantage. At the same time, however, chess is such a complex game that you can never store all the possibilities in your memory. In the game itself, the biggest help is a greater numerical intelligence: “The numerically more intelligent players seem to be able to utilize their strengths best in order to calculate different moves. General visual-spatial thinking hardly plays a role here,” says Grabner. Even in old age, when intelligence decreases, the advantage of greater numerical intelligence remains. However, it is still not a substitute for practice."

https://neurosciencenews.com/chess-i...ractice-14809/

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Here's another one. https://www.healthline.com/health/be...0test%20scores.

"If you’re one of the many parents and educators who train students in chess in the hopes that the game will improve performance on standardized tests that feature math and problem-solving, you may be disappointed in the gains.

Multiple studiesTrusted Source have shown that while chess playing does improve cognitive, memory, and math skills, it doesn’t necessarily translate into higher test scores. Research has produced mixed results on the effects of playing chess on test scores."

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And another. https://www.brainscape.com/academy/d...e-you-smarter/

"The take-home message is that working your brain through problem-solving, thinking games like chess—or puzzles, sudoku, crosswords, and riddles—can keep your brain's neuroplasticity pliant as you age, helping to stave off diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia."

seems to me that chess is just one of thbe many ways to exercise the brain. Other ways include sudoku, crosswords, etc.

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and another...

Does chess improve your IQ?

Multiple studies have shown that while chess playing does improve cognitive, memory, and math skills, it doesn't necessarily translate into higher test scores. Research has produced mixed results on the effects of playing chess on test scores.Oct 19, 2020.

My research says learning a new language is the best way to improve brain function, and also is much more beneficial in allowing one to be a productive member of your society.

Language learning has been shown to improve a student's cognitive function, including, but not limited to:

• Enhanced Problem Solving Skills.
• Improved Verbal and Spatial Abilities.
• Improved Memory Function (long & short-term)
• Enhanced Creative Thinking Capacity.
• Better Memory.
• More Flexible and Creative Thinking.

Ok, I only spent a couple of hours on this, so I may have missed something. It seems to me that insofar as brain healthj goes, there are many ways to do it besides.

So of course this is a chess discussion board, so naturally people want to promote chess. But if our purported goal is just to enhance the brain function of the younger generation, there are mopre effective ways of getting it done.

It horrifies me to think of an army of children all learning from Larry's program, or whoever we pick to write the program. That.s not a knock against Larry's program, but having one program for all pretty much spoils the individuality and creativity of the game, no? I would never in a million years have my kid learn the game that way. Would any of you?




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[Olga Mushtaler]

Fred Henderson aka Pargat Perrer, I've saved a lovely picture for you. Do you like it?