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Sounds like amphetamine abuse to me. Presumably de rigeur in chess.

Did you read the article? It’s about diet, exercise, and the energy burnt playing chess.

Did you read between the lines? The article is indeed about those things, but they’re almost certainly BS.

Since we're on the topic of making things up not described in the article, I think it's secret gastric bypass surgeries the competitors are undergoing, not amphetamines.

While they were playing chess no less!

It's well possible that Magnus and Anand and cohort are having the lifestyles of active sportsmen with nutritionists and physical trainers and all that good stuff, while amphetamins or at least Provigil is rampant among middling players breaking into the middle ranks.

I've been in a 52-versus-one simultaneous (offline) game with a Champion (not a Grand Champion). I'm mediocre at chess, but can you imagine the kind of skills you need to beat 52 mediocre-to-interested-amateur players? At Magnus's level stimulants possibly no longer work -- much like amphetamines wouldn't help me pass a calculus exam; probably even set me back.

The game is exhausting at those levels.

Also, not to validate your presumption, but anecdotally I can say that amphetamine and nootropic use is pretty rampant within chess.

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