Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Drug Testing For Olympic Chess Players?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the letting-any-sport-it-in-now dept.

Lawrence Person writes: "According to this AP wire story, they're thinking of adding chess as an Olympic sport. The downside? Mandatory drug testing. 'He's using steroids to move that pawn!'"

4 of 344 comments (clear)

  1. Won't Happen by wafath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ignore the "Chess Isn't a Sport" arguements. That does not matter to the IOC. What matters is that chess is not TV friendly. The IOC cares more about ratings than anything else.

    posted by an irrate fencer, a sport that is in danger of being cut because we aren't "TV Friendly".

    W

  2. Re:Chess - A stupid game for stupid people. by kramer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Actually, just today on NPR they discussed a research study that suggested that many Master and Grandmaster level chess players are using a part of the brain completely unused in the average player. The conclusion drawn by this researcher and study was that your average person is incapible due to his brain structure to become a Grandmaster.

    Now while I don't agree with that, since it's been proven that different experiences can help develop the functioning of different parts of the brain, and I would imagine thousands of games of chess in childhood would warp anyone's brain... anyway, there's a point here somewhere.

    The point I'm trying to make is that just because you someone may think differently, it's an amazingly concieted assumption to make to assume that it's "stupid".

    And no, I can barely keep the names of the pieces right, I'm not a chess fanatic.

  3. Dangerous... by ChristianBaekkelund · · Score: 5, Insightful
    This is without a doubt dangerous territory to tread on...For, while I for one would love to see there be a contest of "mental" challenges of "Olympic" proportions, I don't think the actual Olympics is the place or way to do it.

    If Chess is added to the Olympics, it's only a matter of time before many many other "mental" games are petitioning the Olympic Commission for admission to the games. Instead of allowing the Commission to be very judgemental in what they allow, it'd make better sense for a mental Olympics to be wholly created outside of the existing Games, IMHO.

  4. Re:Chess - A stupid game for stupid people. by Mtgman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The funniest thing about your comment won't be understood by most people. Most people probably don't know who BilldaCat is. Some of us remember.

    And even fewer of us probably remember, and still celebrate, "Chad is Bad" day.

    Steven

    --
    -- I have marked myself unwilling to moderate-- I don't have other accounts to artificially inflate the karma of