[the sun fan]

Originally Posted by melonpapes

But its a much more technical and precise physical cap, which I think opens it up to comparison to say, playing a game with a controller and being able to nail precise "shots" in a game with insanely consistent accuracy. What about an Osu! Tablet player? Shit, even DDR/ITGI would also say requires a certain degree of physicality, but just like golfing, neither require you to be necessarily "fit" to compete, just dexterous, or at most, they only need to display their physicality for short bursts. One of the most physically challenging aspect of golf, in my opinion, is the challenge of lugging a bag of clubs through 18 holes, which can be discarded because most times the pros pay someone to do it for them, or amateurs just rent a cart. The other aspect (actually hitting the ball) requires some degree of physicality, but its definitely a precision act as well. When you get off the tee, and start taking your 2nd and 3rd shots, you could even argue that some of the raw power is also discarded, as "crushing" the ball generally gets you nowhere as far as accuracy goes.

Professional chess I'd argue isn't physical at all. It is extremely mentally taxing, however. Especially if you are timed. I think all "pro" chess is timed, right? But on the scale of physical requirements, if you can lift your arm, you can play chess. If you can lift your arm and have extreme mental fortitude, you can play chess *well*. Keep in mind that I am not limiting "physical skill" to just displays of raw power, but also dexterity and speed. I'd wager that Chess takes no raw power, and almost no dexterity and speed. However, the extreme mental capacity required to play chess *well* under the stress of time is probably "maxed out".

my knowledge of the physicality of golf is quite limited
look up a video of like 1-minute chess and you'll see that there's a ton of both dexterity and speed sometimes
actually, I'll not be lazy for once

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLp2UbBNm0s
(skip to about 3:30)
and yes, I know this was not a "professional" game but its not unheard of to see professional players making moves this quickly under certain time controls

its a bit more than "if you can pick up the piece and think quickly, you can play chess *well*"