Drugs and chess.
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Oct 28, 2007
0
#2
please excuse my ignorance, but why would someone wish to take drugs to improve or enhance their chess playing/performance ?
if their were such a known drug that helped to concentrate and improve on the ability to think and anylise, the chess world would be rife with it. as for me i choose coffee!
well technically speaking caffeine does stimulate, but thankfully its legal, lol,i couldnt function without it!
Oct 28, 2007
0
#5
i'm addicted to coffee .. the only sort i can't drink is the kind that comes from vale in Denver.. it makes me sound like beavis and butthead when i've been on that.
I like coffee but personally I think that I play better when I'm relaxed. Does coffee improve memory and/or cognitive abilities, or does it just make you more alert and hyped up?
I often wonder if Fischer was on drugs. Maybe wonder pills supplied by the US government. 
You look at the guy and he always seems to be beaming off his dial. Also at the age of 13 his jump from 1800 to 2500 very quickly is a bit sus. "I just got good" -Fischer.
Oct 28, 2007
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#7
I think this look very interesting. I don't see it as a "chess steroid" but as a tool that would make general learning easier, which is a very good thing.
oh yea! fischer in collaboration with the u.s. govt. now i've heart it all!
im a coffee addict myself. if i dont have at least two big cups in the morning i'll feel awful all day,.... headaches too. but truth be told , i love coffee!
Oct 29, 2007
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#10
Bobby Fischer was never 2500 at the age of 13. Here is his age and official USCF rating.
12 years, 2 months 1826 (first official USCF rating)
12 years, 4 months 1726 (lost points)
12 years, 10 months 2157 (5th in New York City Open)
13 years, 1 month 2168 (NY metropolitan league play)
13 years, 2 months 2003 (lost points)
13 years, 3 months 2321 (won US Jr Ch)
13 years, 4 months 2349 (4th-8th in US Open)
13 years, 7 months 2321 (lost points)
13 years, 8 months 2298 (lost points)
13 years, 11 months 2222 (lost points)
14 years, 3 months 2103 (lost points)
14 years, 4 months 2298 (won US Jr Ch)
14 years, 5 months 2605 (won US Open and New Jersey Open)
14 years, 8 months 2552 (lost points)
14 years, 9 months 2772 (won the US championship with 12 wins, 1 draw)
I wonder though. I saw a movie about a teenager with ADHD. He was extremely intelligent but had poor concentration and was a member of his schools debate team. Once he was prescribed ritalin he very soon proceeded to lead his team to the national championships.
The film was called Thumbsucker... just incase people were interested.
I don't know...But I do Love my coffee.
billwall wrote:
Bobby Fischer was never 2500 at the age of 13.
Yeah I got that a bit wrong - I must have mis-quoted something I thought I read somewhere. Still a 1000 point raise between the age of 12 and 14 was pretty phenomenal. Obviously this doesn't mean he was on drugs, but it amuses me to contemplate crazy (but theoretically possible) conspiricy theories.
ancientpistol wrote: oh yea! fischer in collaboration with the u.s. govt. now i've heart it all!
From what I read Fischer was not really anti the US government during his teens and twenties. I might be wrong about this but I think that it was the warrant for his arrest caused by his breaching US sanctions on Yugoslavia by playing Spassky in 1992 that really turned him against the American government.
Etienne wrote: I think this look very interesting. I don't see it as a "chess steroid" but as a tool that would make general learning easier, which is a very good thing.
Yeah that's an interesting point. Could it be ok to take this drug to enhance your learning sessions? But not ok to pop one 60 mins before you begin a competition game? Where does the line get drawn?
Bobby Fischer was a chess genius. He was a child prodigy and became a Grandmaster at the age of fifteen. There is nothing to be suspicious of his rapid rise in his ratings from the age of twelve onwards, Mr. Quixotical!
lol. I wish I hadn't opened my big mouth. All I'm saying is that he always looks high to me on the videos I've seen of him. But this could just be his great energy that he finds hard to contain.
Using drugs when young would be an explanation for the delusional paranoia that he developed in his later years, but so would his exceptional intelligence. Its not uncommon for geniuses (esp. chess geniuses) to go mad.
I was sort I joking around when I made the suggestion and I hope no one takes me too seriously.
Oct 30, 2007
0
#18
I used to take epherdrine with caffiene and used to get a right buzz off it. Strangely though it only works with caffiene. It's found in some cough remedies in small quantities. Maradonna was banned from the 1994 world cup for taking this. Some people use it on diets as it suppresses the appetite. Some people drink and drive with it because it keeps you that alert. One drawback though is it causes urinary problems and shrinks your bladder and penis ( temporarily ). I don't take it now though and havn't for years. And like alcohol and other legal and illegal drugs i'd advise other people to steer clear of it.
I have read a few articles on this subject over the years and the predominant viewpoint seems to be that there is no point testing chessplayers for drugs because there is no known drug that improves your chess.
I wonder though. I saw a movie about a teenager with ADHD. He was extremely intelligent but had poor concentration and was a member of his schools debate team. Once he was prescribed ritalin he very soon proceeded to lead his team to the national championships.
I knew a guy in Sydney who was a meth freak. In slow games he was nothing special. But in blitz -my goodness; he was very strong. He was the only park player who could beat the 2300 master who sometimes came to play blitz.
Here is an interesting article about a drug that evidently almost immediately improves memory and cognitive ability. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2090