A Sport or Not

In Russia, chess is considered a sport. There are chess halls in National Sports Training centers and the results of chess matches are reported on TV during the sports segment. The rest of us in the world are sure that chess is not a sport, primarily because there is absolutely no physical skill, physical movement or physical activity involved in chess at all. Regardless of whether you consider chess a sport or not, chess does have certain lessons that can be learned by sports coaches, including gymnastics coaches. A great coach knows all of the potential strategies for training gymnasts and all the possible “moves.” With that encyclopedic knowledge of all the training possibilities for gymnastics, the coach can pick the right move for the right gymnast at the right time.