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?