Kasparov was lauded for his dedication to fitness during his title years because he took "long walks." If that doesn't tell you all you need to know about the level of fitness inherent in this pastime, nothing will.
Chess players, on the whole, are marshmallows. You don't get fit sitting at a table or reading a book. We may be fitter than poker players, however.
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmi-m.htm ^_^.
Level chess: ~1300 Chess.com turn-based
Age: 21
BMI: 20.4
And I read this topic just before I went for my 30 minutes jogging excersise :D!
Level of chess: ~1600
Age: 17
BMI: 22
However, I don't think a thread will produce valid results, because of self-selection bias. Because obesity is stigmatised, the obese will not admit to their weight.
I read a chessbase article titled: On the lifestyle of Polish chess players, however the article isn't very good: it sums up a survey of young chess players, without providing a comparison with the general population.
Also see these previous threads discussing the impact of chess on weight
In the first chess club I played in (1970's, city club), there were 3 physiotypes: (1) overweight smokers, (2) not-overweight smokers, and (3) non-smoker. Note the lack of pluralization on the third type; that was me.
In the most recent club I played in (2010's, university club), there were no smokers and no overweight players. Campus buildings are smoke-free, so the addicts can't tolerate chess night.
I'm 48 and a long-distance runner.
That's true, I too do not know anyone who is very strong at chess and very muscular. However, that's probably true for any sendetary activity. You need to dedicate at least four afternoons a week to chess if you want to be strong, and the same goes for any sport. Hence, few people have time to manage both. You'd get a simlar result if you tried to find an athletic musician.
I am a former Marine, amateur boxer and wrestler and now, at age 68, I am a competitive powerlifter who holds three state records for my age and weight class. I toss the iron four times per week and play chess every day. Now I know why I'm not a master.
People who are pros in any non-athletic areas would likely tend to be out of shape I would say.
Worth noting though is top chess players often talk about needing to be in good shape to play well. Kasparov's "long walks" are a bit funny :) he was certainly in better shape than that.
Take a look at 2700+ players (there's 39 of them)
Sure, Gelfand and Svidler are a bit portly (but not what you'd call obese)
Most of the other guys look underweight if anything
Chessplayers come from the general population and that population is not very athletic at all, although there are many exceptions, my hobbies have always been basketball and chess you need a clear mind and a STRONG body just to be at your best in life period !!!
Bobby Fischer was fairly big on excercise. He didn't look like a weight lifter or anything, but he walked and jogged, and he swam a lot. He played tennis. While in Iceland for the first Spassky match, he bowled and played ping-pong. He reportedly wasn't a good bowler, he just did it for exercise and as a distraction.
There is an interview with Karpov here. From that link
IWF: When you were preparing with Geller and your team, what would a typical day be like?
AK: I was getting up late, because I go to sleep late. I was getting up at half past eight or nine o'clock, then a small physical exercise. Then breakfast. After breakfast, we worked on chess maybe two or two and one half hours, then one hour of tennis or swimming. Then lunch, then after lunch a one-hour break, then a chess game. Then more chess for two to three hours, then another half to one hour sports, then dinner. Then (after dinner), of course not every day, we could spend time on chess preparedness or have free time.
So when Karpov was training for this match, his day started with light excercise, and he had an hour scheduled for tennis or swimming each day.
This link also discusses several GM's doing various excercises. Some of those mentioned there are Eugene Torre, Fisher, Kasparov, Max Euwe, and Mikhail Botvinnik. (and others.)
I think that the BMI alone is not indicative enough of a normal or athletic person. For example:
Rating 1665
Age: 20
BMI: 20.4
But my percentage of body fat is very low.
%Body Fat: 7%
My BMI does not accurately show my body type based on my low body fat percentage.
So I think that % body fat should be included in any type of study like this one.
I have the feeling you won't get too many people posting, "Yeah, I'm a fatty." Eat better and exercise, your life will improve, don't put it off, start today, right now.
I don't know my BMI, but I'm lean mean chess mo-sheen!
1719 USCF
2 and a half years playing chess
15 years old
110-ish pounds
8 minute mile
15%-ish body fat
1600 USCF (for now!)
2 years of playing chess "seriously", a few months since registering with USCF
16 years old
193 pounds (and still rapidly decreasing; to give perspective, six weeks ago I was 225) but also, 6 foot tall and broadly built.
I do not work out at all anymore. Funnily enough, I began losing all that weight immediately after leaving my vigorously difficult sport. Turns out, thought I didn't notice at the time, that I would eat like there was not tomorrow after each workout because they were so difficult and I had to recover for the workout of the next day. haha.
Dear players,
i am not a researcher,i just brought up an idea!As for athletic activity though,it seems that we have three positive groups of players:
a)Those who consider it as an organic part of their chess training.
b)Those who consider it as a necessary break from their chess training.
c)Those who may do workouts everyday, but without giving much attention to them.
Greetings
I had to take a few guesses because I haven't weighed or measured myself since I was about 12 years old (currently 17), but I think I have a rough estimate:
Age: 17
BMI: 19.0
Rating: No official rating, but I'd estimate between 1500 and 1800.
I just replace the beers with protein shakes during the tournament season. LOL
Cool pic, but the board is set up wrong. :(
Fischer advocated vigorous exercise and healthy eating, and practiced it himself, saying that, "You can't seperate mind from body. Your body has to be in top condition."
Kasparov advocates exercise, and at least at one point was very fit himself, by all accounts. He even did weight-lifting with personal trainers.
Steinitz was one of the first great players who reccomended daily exercise for better chess results.
Also, I have heard some chess coaches (mostly scholastic ones) reccomend doing at least one sport in addition to chess, because of the positive effects of it.
http://books.google.com/books?id=VFUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA85&dq=bobby+fischer+life&hl=en&ei=4yjfTci_DInegQeU7NjoCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=bobby%20fischer%20life&f=false
Chess Champion Bobby Fischer is Deep in Training: LIFE 1972
Warning: lots of pics of Bobby wearing only shorts or covered in a towel. Ladies may like this thread...
Research groups:
By Level
1100-1500
1500-2000
2000-2400
2400-2600
2600+
By Age
8-20
20-30
30-40
40-50
50+
It would be interesting to know the relative obesity rates...
What do you say?