Thanks for some good posts clearing things up. Just a charade for the sake of the impossible and absurd dream of having chess be an olympic sport.
I wouldn't think you'd want to mess yourself up in any way before playing a big match. Stimulants, depressants - anything you're not used to would just screw with your mental process. Only stuff you'd want would be things you take all the time already (like drinking your coffee and evidently for some in this forum, puffing the chalice).
I hope ephedra isn't on the list, it's just about the only thing left that will actually help you lose weight. It suppresses appetite and raises metabolism. It works really well with bitter orange too.
You mean, apart from diet and exercise?
Yeah sometimes diet and exercise alone is too slow. I was reading green coffee bean pill labels and one said, "You shouldn't snack between meals or before bed with this" Gee, wonder what really helps you lose weight if you take that stuff and follow the directions.
I wouldn't take the ephedra pills on race day though since you spend more energy and get out of breath easier with it though there are some energy booster ones.
I hope ephedra isn't on the list, it's just about the only thing left that will actually help you lose weight. It suppresses appetite and raises metabolism. It works really well with bitter orange too.
Of course ephedra is banned by the IOC, as you would expect of anything which alters metabolism and helps athletes lose weight. As such, ephedra is banned in chess as well!
I agree it's a massive waste of money. I don't think chess masters are the type of people who would experiment with powerful mind-altering drugs. But it's certainly possible. Dr. Pfleger may have been playing chess under the effect of various substances without noticing any improvement for 30 years but I don't think that's enough to make the claim that they can't possibly help anyone's game (and I don't think he intended to make that statement.) I've never read anything about playing chess with nootropics but I have read many accounts of programmers using for an increase in productivity so I really don't find it too far-fetched.
Those playing the Scotch Game are under suspicion.