Drugs in Chess

During the present WCC player and their seconds have been tested for Drugs usage. Results are infavour of players and their teams. But do we really require drug test in chess.

For example for athletes it requires stamina,power and muscle, so there is a possibility to use drugs.For cycling people use some metallic pieces sticked to the cycle to enhance performance of the cycle and so on.

But if you come to chess we never seen or heard of any grugs which enhances memory or alertness.

Better FIDE can think about alternate Inspectoin system for players and their seconds, rather testing for Drugs usage.

Oh come now.

I'm sure the admins would frown on us getting too cavalier with this discussion, but suffice it to say that drugs specifically designed to enhance concentration (and they perscribe this stuff like candy to kids for attention defecit) would work wonders for one's chess.

/any national masters want to volunteer for a controlled study group?

i take adderall everyday for my ADD and Im still not that good at chess

BBR08...

• it can only enhance your abilities. Nothing replaces study. I could take steroids today and still suck at sports.

• these enhancement effects are most apparent when taken by people who aren't perscribed the drugs for real conditions. ie, requiring it for normalcy.

Susan Polgar had a blog about a similar subject.

Can a brain pill make you a better chess player?

this is funny

No, they're pretty silly and just exist so that Chess can be a step closer to an Olympic sport. No drug can really improve your chess and yes I'm aware of stimulants and so called notropics. It's really just an annoyance but luckily most of us don't have to deal with it... yet.

I'm sorry Exigentsky but if you feel no drug can assist with chess you're simply incorrect. If I were about to participate in a tournament, and I took a dose of dexedrine, it would provide me enormous assistance. It doesn't mean I'd win by any means, (I don't believe I could beat a +1650 player with any amount), but it does mean my concentration would be much more key'd in.

The bottom line is it is likely not completely crazy for chess to be drug tested for just these instances.

I remember our old high school chess team got disqualified for having used various forms of anabolic steroids and animal tranquilizers before chess matches to gain unfair advantage over our opponents 

Dark days those were... dark days indeed.

I'm pretty sure Ketamine would destroy a persons chess ability...

/maybe you're joking
//you're probably joking

I've studied nootropics (*Racetams, Bacopa and Vinpocetine mostly) as well as stimulants (Modafinil especially) more than you can imagine. Like most researchers, I've come to the conclusion that there is insufficient evidence they will improve the overall cognitive ability of healthy, well-rested people. Of course there are positive studies, but many were not double blind controlled and there have been mixed results in general. Although, I'm sure that stimulants and several nootropics may help someone who is feeling very tired. There are also cases in which they may improve specific aspects but at the cost of others. For example, I noticed that if I tired, I played better with Caffeine but also became overly optimistic and more prone to blunder (surprisingly).  Moreover, there is absolutely no evidence that any drugs will help in the cognitive skills associated with chess.

Exigentsky, what do you derive fom your studies: that there is a greater likelihood that these drugs have an affect on a persons cognitive abilities or not?

I think your own admisssion "I played better with Caffeine but also became overly optimistic and more prone to blunder (surprisingly)." is embarrassingly evident as to what your drug history is: ohhh so you "noticed" a difference with caffine. Wooow. So you've cited a drug that no one else even cares about (I don't care if my opponent has had a coffee, to tell you the truth, lol).

Until you tell me you've experimented with it yourself, save it. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

I am against drug testing for chess until its proven , beyond doubt, that there is some drug that truly increases your chess "strength".  To my knowledge this hasnt been proven. This is just more invasion of privacy imo. I take medication for high blood pressure and its one of the "forbidden substances" that would make me flunk a drug test at the chess events I play. I have been taking it a couple of years now and my rating has gone down, not up. Its ridiculous imo.

Have you ever taken amphetamines of any variety, Reb?

haha right on, luis. It's not an entirely serious topic. But for all the naysayers - we live in a day and age wherein incredible feats are going to be made possible through pharmacuticals. It is already greater than a good nights sleep. Don't underestimate the advances that are being made.

Chess skill can indeed be amplified by drugs but not materialised. I am going to be red bulling at my next tournament simply as an experiment and i don't have access to cool drugs. On another note i believe performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in chess but to everyone but with limitations meaning that the greatest athletes aren't the ones with the best pharmacist's.

Speaking as a pharmacologist drugs such as amphetamines increase the speed at which a task is done, but the quality of said task becomes decreased. There are natural products such as ginkgo biloba that are perfectly legal and have a marked affect on memory and concentration. This sort of product is ideal for the chess enthusiast.

Speaking as a pharmacologist you're not being totally honest. Surely amphetimines make one more "sketchy" but not until hours and hours after use... the depreciation of quality comes when the effects have worn off.

pep pills etc make you feel more confident. so you think you,re playing better. but reality is different. try playing when you,re a bit drunk.