Commentary: Why recognising e-sports, chess and bridge as sports matters to Team Singapore

SINGAPORE: Is chess a sport? Or is it a game?

The question of whether an activity qualifies as a sport is a long-standing debate among casual fans, serious athletes and sports administrators. The debate has recently been reignited in Singapore, with Parliament considering a Bill that will formally recognise e-sports, chess and bridge as sports .

The Singapore Sports Council (Amendment) Bill, tabled last month, aims to update the roles and functions of Sport Singapore (SportSG). The broader intent is to better support the increasingly diverse sporting aspirations of Singaporeans.

The question of whether e-sports and mind games are sports is unlikely to be resolved definitively anytime soon. Those against it say that such activities do not require sufficient physical effort, while those in favour argue that they involve direct contest against an opponent and demand resilience, endurance and strategy.

There is also the question of how e-sports and mind games stack up against the gold standard of excellence for most sporting activities – the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially recognises the World Chess Federation and World Bridge Federation, but chess and bridge are not included in the Olympic Games.

E-sports are similarly acknowledged by the IOC but are not part of the Games. The committee launched the Olympics Esports Series in Singapore in 2023, but came under fire for its selection of titles , due to its conditions that e-sports must reflect Olympic values and cannot contain violent content.

Meanwhile, there is no unanimous agreement among individual countries on whether e-sports and mind games are sports. Regardless of which side of the argument comes out on top, there is merit in