He can do whatever he wants to. But world championship matches often come down to the slimmest of margins, and avoiding fatigue while maintaining the ability to concentrate without lapses for 4-6 hours straight, day after day, isn't easy. Fischer, Kasparov, and Carlsen - to pick three big names - spent a lot of time working on their fitness for that reason. Kramnik, who was a smoker and pretty unfit in his late teens/early 20s kicked the habit and looked like an athlete by the time he faced Kasparov in 2000. Alekhine famously cleaned up his act after losing his title to Euwe in 1935, and I can recall other instances of champions and contenders working on their fitness as part of their match preparation. Chess isn't athletics, but it is a sport or at least very sport-like. If you want to do your best as a professional chess player, being at least reasonably fit seems like common sense. (It's not primarily a point about weight/BMI, as one can be skinny and unfit as well.)
Absolutely agree. Switched my name to real name Marc (in the UK) BTW.
I take it the 'slimmest of margins' is a bit of a pun. I played at university and county level many years ago and the 4 to 5 hour games were among the most gruelling tests and especially if I lost.
Yes not all about weight and maybe Nepo is in better shape than he looks:
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Nepo got fitness checks and advice
01 Jul 2021
World championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi spent a few days in Munich for sport medical checks and fitness training with Marcus Lindner, athletic coach of the Bayern München basketball team, who will stay in touch with him during the preparation for the match in November.
By the way, I found this interview and article to be pretty interesting - a lot of stuff that I didn't know about him and his general attitude and what he finds interesting: https://english.elpais.com/sports/2023-05-02/ding-liren-world-chess-champion-i-remembered-camus-if-you-cant-win-you-have-to-resist.html
Thanks for the report Dennis. Catching up with you again after often posting on your previous blog.
Nepo and fitness? A polite way of saying cut down on the pies etc.?
He can do whatever he wants to. But world championship matches often come down to the slimmest of margins, and avoiding fatigue while maintaining the ability to concentrate without lapses for 4-6 hours straight, day after day, isn't easy. Fischer, Kasparov, and Carlsen - to pick three big names - spent a lot of time working on their fitness for that reason. Kramnik, who was a smoker and pretty unfit in his late teens/early 20s kicked the habit and looked like an athlete by the time he faced Kasparov in 2000. Alekhine famously cleaned up his act after losing his title to Euwe in 1935, and I can recall other instances of champions and contenders working on their fitness as part of their match preparation. Chess isn't athletics, but it is a sport or at least very sport-like. If you want to do your best as a professional chess player, being at least reasonably fit seems like common sense. (It's not primarily a point about weight/BMI, as one can be skinny and unfit as well.)
Absolutely agree. Switched my name to real name Marc (in the UK) BTW.
I take it the 'slimmest of margins' is a bit of a pun. I played at university and county level many years ago and the 4 to 5 hour games were among the most gruelling tests and especially if I lost.
Yes not all about weight and maybe Nepo is in better shape than he looks:
------------
Nepo got fitness checks and advice
01 Jul 2021
World championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi spent a few days in Munich for sport medical checks and fitness training with Marcus Lindner, athletic coach of the Bayern München basketball team, who will stay in touch with him during the preparation for the match in November.