5 ms·

Chess pros burn a Michael Phelpsian 6k calories per game

6 points by patagonia 5y ago

jbperry 5y ago
Makes me wonder about debugging in a time crunch. Or intensely learning a new framework. Any of those situations where the world disappears and you come out of it hours later.
x86_64Ubuntu 5y ago
I would need to see some more numbers on this. 6,000 calories is nearly 2 pounds of fat, and it's an incredible amount of energy. The person would be soaking wet from the energy expended, or they would have to chill the chess rooms.
boublepop 5y ago
The central number here seems to be entirely anecdotal and very unbelievable.
tubby12345 5y ago
Lol there's a very straightforward way to verify this since that kind of physical exertion produces reciprocal changes in the body. So are there any chess pros that have the physique of Phelps? Hmm
- bananabiscuit 5y ago
  Burning calories isn’t what leads to muscular physique, looking at any marathon runner is proof of that.
  - tubby12345 5y ago
    you're taking my words very literally. my point is simple: compare a chess grandmaster's physique with anyone else's that burns 6000 calories a day
    - bananabiscuit 5y ago
      Yeah maybe. I don’t really know what you mean then, Because there isn’t really a “typical” physique for people that burn insane amounts of calories per day. Power lifters and marathon runners both regularly burn calories in high ranges like that yet their physiques are totally different.
HappySweeney 5y ago
Per game? This seems ... not possible. Wouldn't the players require huge amounts of food while not playing? I have been at a competition hosted on a hotel conference floor, and there were zero feasts to be seen.
Rd6n6 5y ago
Looks like 132 per hour is what the research actually says. The actual paper is pay walled, but this describes it: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-september-18-2019-1.5287932/forget-the-treadmill-an-intense-game-of-chess-can-burn-hundreds-of-calories-research-suggests-1.5288030 https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-septembe... Another fun quote: > The 1984 World Chess Championship was called off after five months with both competitors — Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov — experiencing exhaustion. Karpov was reported to have lost close to 20 lbs.

6 points by patagonia 5y ago

Makes me wonder about debugging in a time crunch. Or intensely learning a new framework. Any of those situations where the world disappears and you come out of it hours later.

x86_64Ubuntu 5y ago

I would need to see some more numbers on this. 6,000 calories is nearly 2 pounds of fat, and it's an incredible amount of energy. The person would be soaking wet from the energy expended, or they would have to chill the chess rooms.

boublepop 5y ago

The central number here seems to be entirely anecdotal and very unbelievable.

tubby12345 5y ago

Lol there's a very straightforward way to verify this since that kind of physical exertion produces reciprocal changes in the body. So are there any chess pros that have the physique of Phelps? Hmm

bananabiscuit 5y ago
Burning calories isn’t what leads to muscular physique, looking at any marathon runner is proof of that.
- tubby12345 5y ago
  you're taking my words very literally. my point is simple: compare a chess grandmaster's physique with anyone else's that burns 6000 calories a day
  - bananabiscuit 5y ago
    Yeah maybe. I don’t really know what you mean then, Because there isn’t really a “typical” physique for people that burn insane amounts of calories per day. Power lifters and marathon runners both regularly burn calories in high ranges like that yet their physiques are totally different.

HappySweeney 5y ago

Per game? This seems ... not possible. Wouldn't the players require huge amounts of food while not playing? I have been at a competition hosted on a hotel conference floor, and there were zero feasts to be seen.

Rd6n6 5y ago

Looks like 132 per hour is what the research actually says. The actual paper is pay walled, but this describes it: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-september-18-2019-1.5287932/forget-the-treadmill-an-intense-game-of-chess-can-burn-hundreds-of-calories-research-suggests-1.5288030 https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-septembe... Another fun quote: > The 1984 World Chess Championship was called off after five months with both competitors — Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov — experiencing exhaustion. Karpov was reported to have lost close to 20 lbs.