Eat your way to become a GM?

Eat like a grandmaster
By David R. Sands
January 12, 2008

Eat chocolate, sip mineral water, swim for exercise and skip breakfast — and you might become a grandmaster.

Just in time for the late New Year’s resolution season, an Argentine nutritionist has compiled an extensive survey on the dietary and exercise regimens of the world’s top players. Seventy-two male and female grandmasters participated in the survey, conducted by Roberto Baglione of the National Sport Higher Performance Center in Buenos Aires.

Actually, the dietary doctor concludes that ambitious players should eat breakfast, which “has a direct effect on the glucose concentration in the brain and liver.” However, his survey found that about 36.1 percent of his sample did not eat a morning meal — and still ranked among the game’s elite.

An overwhelming 95.8 percent of those surveyed said they ate or drank something during games, with chocolate (80.5 percent) swamping fruits (14.6 percent) and cereal bars (9.8 percent) as the preferred munchie. Nearly 90 percent of the GMs said they engaged in physical activity at least three times a week, with swimming edging out jogging and working out in the gym by a small margin.

Other gustatory gems to help your game:

• The last “main” meal should be eaten at least three hours before the clocks are started. Closer to game time, players should limit themselves to snacking on fruits, pretzels, yogurt or sports drinks.

• “The best [in-game] hydration strategy is to drink small quantities at regular intervals instead of greater quantities at fewer intervals, and to avoid being thirsty.”

• The abuse of dietary supplements can lead to other health problems and put the player afoul of new chess anti-doping rules.

Here is the full article.