When we think of sports, we think of physical activity. When we think Olympics, we think track and field. The sporting world can be instantly related to blood-pumping activities. They involve a lot of physical training, practice, and of course skill. You can’t be an American Football player if you aren’t built to withstand punishment, and you can’t be good at sprinting unless you train your speed.
However, there’s a different type of sport that many people don’t even know about: mind sports.
Chess
Chess is a recognised sport in the International Olympic Committee, and some national sporting bodies also consider it a sport. It was even included in the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games!
It’s an intense battle of minds that you really need to understand to appreciate. There are complicated moves that players can make, and you always need to stay several steps ahead of your opponent if you want to win. A grandmaster in chess is capable of thinking up to 20 moves ahead, making decisions based on what may or may not happen and calculating every possibility. That’s some serious mental strength!
Curious about chess now? There are plenty of online websites where you can play for free against a computer opponent or play against random people online. It’s good fun, and you might learn to appreciate the game as a sport!
Poker
In 2009, the International Federation of Poker became the official governing body for poker and they promoted the game as a mind sport. There are championships and cups that draw in thousands of players from all over the globe, and there are huge prize pools of over several million dollars. What once started as just a gambling game is now a complete sport!
There’s a lot of bluffing involved with a game of poker. Although you can compete in cups and tournaments online, it’s nothing like playing in person where your facial expression can trigger warnings to a seasoned player. The most common ruleset in a tournament is the Texas Hold’em variety.
Like with chess, there are plenty of sites to play online. So whether you’re in the mood for a quick game of Texas Hold’em, or any card games in general, check out a site like BonusAdvisor.
Rubik’s Cube
The Rubik’s Cube is a toy that we’ve all played with at one time in our lives. While it seems almost impossible for a regular person to solve it (or at least, without taking weeks or months!) speed-cubers can solve it in less than 10 seconds!
There are competitions held around the world where contestants try to solve cubes of all shapes and sizes as quickly as they can. The world record is currently at 4.74 seconds, held by Mats Valk of The Netherlands, aged 20.
Solving a Rubik’s Cube is a unique test of the mind. There are sequences and tricks to solve it, but you also need nimble fingers to obtain a world record time. You can pick up a cheap Rubik’s Cube at most toy stores if you want to try one, but speedcubers recommend specific cubes due to their speed and durability.