Chess was a part of noble culture in ancient times. The “King’s game” was used to teach war strategy - and was also as the basis of sermons on morality. The game entered into popular culture in the middle ages.

A different perspective on chess came forth in the modern era. Benjamin Franklin, in an article titled “The Morals of Chess”, wrote how some valuable qualities of the mind could be acquired and strengthened by playing the game.

The modern era saw the game progress and developments like the introduction of Algebraic Chess Notations and invention of Chess Compositions took place. By the early 20th century, chess had become very big, but it failed to make it to 1924 Olympics at Paris as the organisers were not able to distinguish between professional and amateur players.

A parallel Chess Olympiad took place in Paris, the last day of which saw the formation of FIDE which became the world ches governing body. Olympiads were held irregularly starting from 1927. After World War II  they were held every two years and the world saw a steep surge in the game’s popularity.

Late in the 20th century efforts to make chess an Olympic event started all over again. The game was recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 1999 and was included as an exhibition event at Sydney in 2000. Vishwanathan Anand, playing Alexei Shirov at Sydney, described it as “a big leap”.

Dope testing was to be instituted in chess for it to become a medal event at the Olympics. Some countries like Germany and Spain already had an anti-doping policy in place. The Spanish Council of Sports and the German Sports Federation asked the chess federations to comply with the policy if they wanted financial aids.

However, the US Chess Federation revolted big time and the executive director of the federation came out in support of players who didn’t want the dope test. Some players argued that most chess players played for the love of the game and not for money or honour. They said that many players outside the top 10 barely have the money to pay their rent. Other athletes were getting big bucks and some argued as to why should a chess player who gets nothing must face the humiliation of peeing in a cup in front of a stranger.

Since then the game's entry into the Olympics has hit roadblocks. With the IOC wanting to reduce the number of events to cut costs, some have lost hope. Requests to induct and reinstate many games have been rejected by the committee - but there is still a huge argument to be made.

The game is truly global with 160 national federations affiliated to FIDE and more than 10 million members affiliated to various federations. By April 2008, in India alone there were 3,338 players rated by FIDE. One out of every three Indians has played the game at some point in their life. The minimum and inexpensive equipment required to play the game make it a household hit.

The efforts to make it a medal event at the Olympics need to be strong and people need to unite for the cause. Whether some drugs can enhance cognitive function, and whether dope testing chess players is right are questions that still remain unanswered, but if the inclusion of chess into the Olympics brings in some money for the players, the humiliation will at least be felt a little less.

But thinking in a broader way, the game’s inclusion would enable chess federations to get financial help from the Olympic associations and, more importantly, it will give the 500 million chess lovers around the world another reason to support the Olympic movement.