Boris Gelfand, Altitude Trainer?
For all Boris Gelfand's many virtues as a chess player and sportsman, being in great physical condition doesn't seem to be among them. Nevertheless, like many a world championship candidate before him, he has undertaken a serious regimen that includes conditioning, and this report (HT: Brian Karen) mentions one fascinating aspect of his preparation: altitude training!
The thought is that training at altitude increases the concentration of red blood cells for at least a couple of weeks after the trainee returns to lower altitudes, with the reported benefit of increased mental alertness. (The match goes three weeks, so I suppose that if Gelfand doesn't have a lead after two weeks he'll be in trouble!)
Any thoughts on this or related training tips?
Reader Comments (2)
You would have to stay at altitude training for at least a month to acclimate. After that, you will have the red blood cells in your system for at least 90 days after the fact (more like 13 weeks than the 3 you mention). However, it is questionable whether this would really help in a chess game. It is often done though by sports teams preparing for the olympics.
An acquaintance of mine is a Dutch top runner who will participate in the Boston Marathon next Monday, hoping to qualify for the Olympic Games. In preparation he spent almost one month at altitude in Mexico (16 March to 11 April), but he has to attend the compulsory press conference later today. Apparently re-adaptation implies that athletes experience a dip four to five days after returning to sea level - to prevent this they install a low-oxygen tent in his hotel room to prolong the effect of altitude.
Two implications: Altitude training is indeed common for endurance sports, but Daniel's "at least a month" may be wrong or at least opinions diverge - I assume the guy and his coach know what they are doing ... . But for chess I never heard of altitude training: in Gelfand's case it may be more of a joke, or maybe the effect is basically psychological. That being said, maybe it doesn't hurt to have a training session far from home, in a relaxed atmosphere without distractions.