Chess and Eating?

This thread hasn't been helpful at all to me.

When i go to tournaments, usually play well against people much higher rated then me, and i eat constantly between rounds. (Once I felt quite ill, and thought it was because i was hungry, but i actually had the stomch flu, had to drop out of the tournament ofr obvious reasons, and came in last after drawing two guys 300 or so points higher then me:( ) i think its good to eat and drink alot of fluids, espically if you are playing alot of games (keeps your enegry up), plus then your not just sitting around thinking about being hungry the whole game, and you can use eating or drinking as an excuse to take a short break from the game and stretch your legs/refresh the position in your mind. I would eat, but not if im sick. haha

What do you mean? What does this have to do with eating during chess?

Because durring the casual games you might be eating Bishops, durring the Rated one's only pawns, not a very good diet there.

I play better when eating queens. Never lost such games.

Eating is not permitted at the board during OTB games. So what are you talking about?

Really?!  I've had a couple of opponents snacking while we played.  What's the punishment if I go cry to the TD?

OHMIGOD is nothing sacred?!  Who on earth has the temerity to tarnish a heavenly activity like eating with something as base and despicable as playing chess?!

This place... it's for monsters.

Are you saying that my eating would distract the other player?

I'm talking during casual games. I wouldn't do it in an official match.

hmm... i get sleepy .

Im pretty sure thats not true. Ive been at a number of tournaments where my opponents have been eating and haven't been punished. Perhaps its depends on the TD, but i haven't seen anyone punished for eating and playing yet.

That reminds me of one incidence. We used to play at a local bar. The bar owner himself was a chess player so he didn't mind us playing there. We used to order some drinks / food etc and generally enjoyed playing under some influence of alcohol One day, instead of a chicken leg, I put a whole rook inside my mouth! hehe 

I usually have some carrot sticks when I play in local tournaments. Its a habit more than anything.

I play in the public library, no food allowed. I would love to be able to snack while I played.

Does beer count as food? Good beer like a nice La Gunitas IPA or a Bells' Two Hearted.

If beer does count as food, well I'm noticing that I'm a bit hungry right now and I just might have to have a "sandwich" or two. I'll get back to you guys in an hour or so..after I see how "lunch" affects my chess game.

 I usually eat a limburger, onion, garlic, and horseradish sandwich when I'm playing OTB.  For some reason it makes my opponents unable to concentrate.

I see eating as a distraction, so I would think most players would perform worse during the act.  If both players are eating, part of the deciding factor of who wins would be who the better multi-tasker is.

 I agree with this post.

 And...there are so many other factors to possibly account for. Are we talking eating as like a Powerbar or a PB&J sandwich, or are we talking eating like a deep dish Sicilian pizza? One meal perhaps leaves some dry crumbs on the board while the other leaves olive oily knights and basil encrusted bishops.

 I think that a light snack in mid afternoon is probably a good thing for most humans...especially this time of year with the light fading so quickly 'round 3:00PM. Everyone seems to have a mid afternoon let down...myho.

 A real meal seems a bit much to digest over a chess board.

His post does make a lot of sense, but, at least for me, eating is not a distraction. It's a lot more like a subconscious action when I'm playing chess. It's not a distraction and it raises my blood sugar level. I think it's probably a benefit for me.