First off, I learned chess about 1 year ago. Im over 50 and did it to exercise my little brain cells. This post is mostly for the elder people as you might feel a difference.
So sitting for long periods of time isn't good for the body. The lymf needs to move. And that only happens via movement of the body. Studies show every 20 min or so its good to move a little.
So on days I play a lot I literally tell myself to do 15 deep simple squats(airsquats) after each chess game (10 min games). If it goes too fast I only do it when I win. Since I win around 50% of the time or so it can still be a good process.
I also do breath work sometimes in-between and during the games. I know it sounds crazy and I guess it is haha. I do something called the Wim Hof method. You might need to not do it while you play in the beginning until you get used to it.
Also I have put the browser in night mode for lower light. especially in the evenings. The blue light messes with you. I made the board bigger. but lowered brightness and blue light with a software called Iris. search for Iris Blue light software.
It gives such a relaxed ambience and you get less stressed about rating. losses etc. you will enjoy the game more. And in fact play better.
After few hours of play your still fresh. Your legs has "trained" and you can actually build up some muscle over time.
Sometimes (because im a nerd I know) I also slap my laptop on the treadmill and walk 10 km in one evening while playing. good hydration and some chill music. its amazing and it makes me feel im not just "wasting" time playing sitting in a chair for half a day.
Another thing. I suggest if your an older fart like me try look into something called Methyline Blue for cognitive boost. books has been written about this compound and to me it makes my chess little more sharp.
Anyways just my personal stuff and I thought I wanted to share it with others as some might find some of it useful.
Check out the book-Sitting Kills. Its the "new smoking".
Anyways just my 2 cents.
Enjoying this forum. thank you.
I mean on one side your advice is very good, on the other side your rating result doesn't show a significant result of this practice, because there is no "before-after" effect. It may relax you, but does it really sharpen your mind? Exactly the blue light of the computer screen is very likely to make your concentration go up and not down. The problem is that people overuse this blue light, making them tired again by using up all of their concentration, but certainly yellow light does not make your mind more sharp either - only more relaxed.
@CheerUpChess-Youtube je has 67 games' played in a year so ... he ... didn't know how the pieves moved in 2022 at the beggining' @SriYantraRising Plus he's over 50 @SriYantraRising I also am 58 so found it interesting as many don't think' about their Health UNTIL it's too late . Many Chessplayers have not done well with their health & in fact bobby would have JUST turned 80 years young in April Fisher . Tal died young & many others like Pillsbury morphy even Capablanca& Alekhine weren't extremly old (Capa had a heart attack at The Marshall but at least he lived a decnt life' ... All in All a THOUGHTWORTHY FORUM POST
Yes it's a good post, I just said it doesn't sharpen your senses @ThunderClap playing chess all day is simple unhealthy no matter how you put it and you can't increase ypur performance by changing the color of light. I would know as a media designer who literally studied light. This bluefilter is a mainstream hype.
@SriYantraRising said in #1:
> Sometimes (because im a nerd I know) I also slap my laptop on the treadmill and walk 10 km in one evening while playing. good hydration and some chill music. its amazing and it makes me feel im not just "wasting" time playing sitting in a chair for half a day.
+1 or +2 for that.
> Another thing. I suggest if your an older fart like me try look into something called Methyline Blue for cognitive boost. books has been written about this compound and to me it makes my chess little more sharp.
Not sure about this one. I am very skeptical about such things. My view is if I became slow and dumb due to age or whatever other reason, I would simply accept it instead of taking any substances. Even if a substance like that did in fact give a little cognitive boost, what would you achieve?
> Check out the book-Sitting Kills. Its the "new smoking".
Sitting for online play is worse than OTB I think. I prefer OTB casual play, even if the opportunities are fewer.
This is a good warm up exercise people should try.
https://youtu.be/JACnVSqgaLU
@CheerUpChess-Youtube said in #2:
> your
No the blue light stuff was about just taking good care of one self. it doesnt make you play better.
also im new to Lichess. I was on another website before.
And I have done these things for a long time already so you wont notice it in ratings anyways.
@CheerUpChess-Youtube said in #4:
> Yes it's a good post, I just said it doesn't sharpen your senses @ThunderClap playing chess all day is simple unhealthy no matter how you put it and you can't increase ypur performance by changing the color of light. I would know as a media designer who literally studied light. This bluefilter is a mainstream hype.
Oh sorry your wrong. The damage blue light does is scientifically solid. Try check out the neurosurgeon called Jack Kruse. Or many many others. You will find the info if you look for it.
Also as pointed out in another reply many chess players die young. why? they are sitting still for hours and hours every day. Its simply not healthy. Read the book called "sitting kills". Its from a NASA scientist.
Its interesting: Many people have 0 issues with a cup of coffee before chess. Its a drig. its a nervous system stimulant. And addictive too. Ask anyone getting off the coffee.
Methyline Blue has been around for over 120 years. Did anyone take hydroxochloroquine for their malaria? Or for Covid? Methyline Blue is the parent molecule for this. It does MANY good things for the body. do the research. Or better yet read the books about it.
Anyway Im not here to convince anyone of anything. And I am certainly not about just taking supplements. I think right diet and exercise beats all that. Getting in the Sun. Sauna. Ice bath. breath work etc all helps. I teach these things for a living.
However this post was only for those who see some value in some ideas.
How many of you are just sitting down all day? chess players are in general in bad shape. Staring into the PC screens all day. not moving a muscle. Wasn't it Magnus Carlson who said he values his sports very much as it gives him stamina for the long games?
I once saw a fat GM fall asleep by the table in the middle of the game. His brain is for sure not optimal. And his health not either.
I just personally see value in these extra "games" of walking while playing. Or air squats every 20 min or so.
Tasking methyline blue was just a side note. if you havent fixed your diet and exercise yet it is pointless to take supplements.
Anyway I benefit with movement at the same time of having fun with chess. Body and Mind. I thought maybe someone else reading this might get some inspiration for it too.
Thats all :)
Enjoy your evening.
@SriYantraRising said in #7:
> No the blue light stuff was about just taking good care of one self. it doesnt make you play better.
Well, then we both agree. Good post. It came across this way a little bit.
@SriYantraRising said in #8:
> Oh sorry your wrong. The damage blue light does is scientifically solid.
You do realise that the sky is blue and bright outside right? How do you think does your eye pick up this blue light without being damaged? It is not the blue light itself that is damaging, but the time and amount and way we consume it. Clearly you have misunderstood the science behind it. Blue light just makes you AWAKE. Overuse of blue light makes your brain go numb, tired, as you get no rest. The day-night-cycle is bound to the sun, electronic devices destroy that cycle, that is why the blue light is bad for you, because people see it at night time too - that doesn't mean that blue itself is in any way harmful. Think about it, you will have to admit that this is the only thing that makes any sense. Blue is not some kind of villian color, it is one of the three colors we see. The way to do it, is to have the smartphone color settings exactly the same as the outside "setting" of nature at that moment. So your smartphone should emit red colors at sunset and blue ones at midday and none at night.
> Also as pointed out in another reply many chess players die young. why? they are sitting still for hours and hours every day. Its simply not healthy. Read the book called "sitting kills". Its from a NASA scientist.
I didn't say anything else, in fact that's exactly what I said myself. I would add a lot of other factors too, but that's not the main topic here. However one can't play chess while walking. The only practical solution is to reduce the amount of chess being played per day. I highly doubt professional chess can be done during physical activity. The reason that it works for you is that you are not playing it even near professional. I appreciate your whole comment, but I don't think it's well applicable to chess. Instead I would do those activities one after another. I tried solving blindfold tactics while riding the bycicle, which turned out to be possible but very exhausting. Brain cannot do many activities at the same time.
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