A clash between China and India is looming in Singapore – for the title of world chess champion

The game of chess conjures up the image of a silent mental duel between two opponents, bent over a battlefield of 64 squares with black and white armies. Both do their best to pierce the veil of the future, calculating offensive and defensive moves to advance their strategies while foiling those of their opponents.

Chess was recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee in 1999, and a high-stakes game can burn nearly 500 calories in four hours, raising the player’s heart rate 80 beats/minute above the resting baseline during critical moments . Not bad at all for a “sitting” sport!