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Sport-specific diet contribution to mental hygiene of chess player
Abstract
The article considers the key nutritional provisions for highly-skilled chess players in the precompetitive training and competitive periods within a yearly meso-cycle and analyses the reasons for the growing demand for the major nutrients and microelements in the competitive period with the relevant loss compensation schemes applicable in the training period. The study data and analyses demonstrated that special diets and nutrition regimens help the highly-skilled chess players attain the required high standards of bodily functionality in the precompetitive and competitive periods. Individual failures of the highly-skilled chess players in maintaining the required day regimens and diets in a competitive period were found to be of potential detrimental effects on the competitive success rates and associated with mental/emotional disorders and fatigue that may stay for quite a long time upon completion of the competitions. To speed up the rehabilitation process in the precompetitive training and competitive periods within a yearly meso-cycle, chess players are recommended to prudently combine modest physical training with active recreation and take timely corrective actions in case of sleeping disorders. Comprehensive medical and biological test data (including the integrated blood biochemistry and lipid complex tests; density-metrics; colonoscopic and gastroscopic tests) were used to recommend, in some cases, the players to administer certain medicines from the lists of the Health Ministry of the RF including Tanakan, Essentiale Forte, Omega 3 Forte, Calcium-D3 Nikomed etc.
... These cognitive functions are affected by cardio-respiratory health and the brain's ability to derive energy from glycogen, which can be enhanced by regular physical exercise and possibly by a carbohydrate rich diet [7]. When preparing for tournaments, chess grandmasters follow demanding exercise regimes and strict diets, similar to the diets and training that athletes undertake before athletic events (for studies on the effect of diet and exercise on chess performance see [8,9]). ...
... They are transferable skills that can be used to benefit society in many ways; effort and perseverance intuitively seem to be under the individual's control ( [27], but see [28]) to some extent, arguably making them apt targets for praise; and celebrating/ praising effort and perseverance can encourage people to successfully complete projects that benefit society. 9 If the routine use of mental stamina enhancement in chess provided a "quick fix" allowing chess players to avoid arduous training, this might seem ethically problematic for the following reasons. Firstly, if the "quick fix" became so popular that traditional, more effortful chess disappeared, this change might deprive wider society of an activity that promoted the important moral values of effort and perseverance. ...
... However, it could be objected that Gleaves' argument does not rule out the possibility that doped "sport" might be equally (or more) valuable, just in a different way. For a similar objection see[29:172].9 Philosophers disagree about the meaning of "control" and the extent to which people have control over how much they persevere (compare, e.g.,[28,29]). ...
This article discusses substances/techniques that target the brain in order to enhance sports performance (known as “neurodoping”). It considers whether neurodoping in mind sports, such as chess, is unethical and whether it should be a crime. Rather than focusing on widely discussed objections against doping based on harm/risk to health, this article focuses specifically on the objection that neurodoping, even if safe, would undermine the “spirit of sport”. Firstly, it briefly explains why chess can be considered a sport. Secondly, it outlines some possible substances/methods that could be used in order to enhance chess performance and justifies the article’s focus on one potential form of neurodoping in particular – “mental stamina enhancement”. Thirdly, this article casts doubt on certain arguments that mental stamina enhancement would be unethical and contrary to the spirit of sport (as defined by WADA). This article stresses the importance of distinguishing the ethical argument that doping violates the “spirit of sport” from the definitional objection that once doping becomes routine in a certain “sport”, it would not count as a sport anymore. The fourth section discusses the definitional objection and argues that mental stamina enhancement in chess might disqualify chess from being a “sport” (according to traditional, rather than revisionist definitions of sport). Yet, it argues that this definitional objection does not provide strong enough grounds to justify the state or sports authorities imposing severe penalties (such as criminalisation or life-long suspensions from competing) for non-harmful neurodoping. The fifth section of the article argues that criminalising non-harmful neurodoping would be disproportionate.
... The 12.7% (29.1% during confinement) of professional chess players did not carry out any type of physical training before COVID-19, and 16.4% (30.9% during confinement) did less than 30 min per day. This is a controversial fact since a good physical condition is recommended to obtain the maximum chess performance (Alifirov et al., 2017). The physical activity analyzed did not accomplish the health requirements of World Health Organization (WHO) (2020c), which is in line with the increased sedentarism of the general population around the world (Middelbeek and Breda, 2013). ...
The outbreak of COVID-19 has triggered a pandemic, jeopardizing global health. The sports world is also suffering enormous consequences, such as the suspension of the Olympic Games in Tokyo or, in chess, the cancelation of the World Candidates Tournament 2020. Chess is a sport characterized by high psychophysiological demands derived from long training durations, tournaments, and games, leading to mental, emotional, and physical stress. These characteristics could provide chess players a certain advantage in facing quarantine situations. This study aimed to analyze the effect of COVID-19 confinement on behavioral, psychological, and training patterns of chess players based on their gender, level of education, and level of chess played. We analyzed chess players (N: 450; age = 38.12 ± 14.01 years) in countries where confinement was mandatory: Professional players (N: 55; age = 43.35 ± 13), high-performance players (N: 53; age = 38.57 ± 13.46), competitive players (N: 284; age = 36.82 ± 13.91), and amateur players (N: 58; age = 39.10 ± 14.99). Results showed that chess players significantly decreased physical activity per day while increased chess practise during the confinement period. However, anxiety levels remained moderate despite the anti-stress effects of physical activity. Amateur players showed a significantly higher level of social alarm than professional and high-performance players. Moreover, professional players showed higher values of extraversion than high-performance players and amateur players. In neuroticism, professional players showed higher values than high-performance players. In addition, the professional players showed higher scores in psychological inflexibility than competitive players. Finally, chess players with the highest academic level showed higher levels of personal concern and anxiety due to COVID-19 as well as lower psychological inflexibility compared to those with a lower academic level. In conclusion, chess players, especially those with a higher academic level, might have adapted their psychological profile to fit confinement situations and the worrying levels of physical inactivity.
Full aptness is the most important concept in performance-based virtue epistemology. The structure of full aptness, in epistemology and elsewhere, is bilevelled. At the first level, we evaluate beliefs, like performances, on the basis of whether they are successful, competent, and apt—viz successful because competent. But the fact that aptness itself can be fragile—as it is when an apt performance could easily have been inapt—points to a higher zone of quality beyond mere aptness. To break in to this zone, one must not merely perform aptly but also in doing so safeguard in skilled ways against certain risks to inaptness. But how must this be done, exactly? This paper has two central aims. First, I challenge the credentials of mainstream thinking about full aptness by raising some new and serious problems for the view. I then propose a novel account of full aptness—what I call de minimis normativism—which keeps all the advantages of the canonical view, avoids its problems entirely, and offers some additional payoffs.
In the present paper the authors provide the theoretical and methodological substantiation of chess as a full, but a specific type of adaptive physical culture. The components of chess as a form of adaptive physical culture were classified: adaptive chess education and sport, psychophysical chess recreation and rehabilitation, creative knowledge oriented chess practice and extreme types of psychophysical chess activity. In the study, the program of additional vocational training "Fundamentals of adaptive chess sport, education and recreation" was developed. Growth takes place in the process of adaptive chess education of 997 students within an academic year, professionally important psychophysical qualities being developed step up to 30%. The intelligence quotient IQ increases to 115 120 units on the average, confirming the positive trend of development of intellectual and motor potential of an individual. Similarity of general and specific competences of chess players and experts, including objective assessment and forecasting, advance knowledge of performance results, self discipline, critical self analysis, volitional powers contributes to development of professionally important for future work qualities.