Have you ever wondered what exactly classifies as a sport? Have you ever wondered if chess is a sport? Technically chess IS a sport. The International Olympics Committee (IOC) has a certain criterion that an activity must fit to be classified as a sport. According to the International Olympics Committee a sport must be “an activity that is widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries and four continents and by women in no fewer than 40 countries and on three continents.” Chess is considered a sport in over 107 countries worldwide meaning that chess fits the criterion that the IOC has set up to qualify for a sport. Now the question arises, “Why exactly is chess considered a sport if there are no athletics involved?” Many people do not view chess as a sport because of the lack of physical activity but those people do not realize that without a healthy body, one cannot have a healthy mind. Chess has many shared characteristics with other well known sports including soccer, football, baseball, and many others. Chess is competitive, well established, practiced worldwide, and it has its own player ranking system. Chess also has a framework of rules that are kept strictly just like any other major sport. These are the reasons as to why chess is viewed as a sport by many internationally.