Chess and Coffee

Coffee does not give you energy. It only makes your brain behave erratically and gives the impression you have more energy.

i'm now drinking more tea than coffee and have found lately that my results have improved

Quite a lot of things encountered in life make your brain behave "errratically" (including your brain itself). Is down to personal choice really.

Brewed tea generally has less caffeine than coffee. It might be a sign that your brain needs less caffeine than you have been giving it.

That's an interesting point.

Coffe makes me go to the bathroom more frequently. It's bad practice for tournaments with G/5 or G/30.

I do most of my tactics training before finishing my first cup of coffee in the morning. It keeps me humble.

I seem to remember reading that caffeine increases cognitive 'activity' but not ability - so basically thoughts are flying around your brain quicker, but not in an organised way so there's no real improvement in performance. That may explain why you're more prone to blunders if you're high on caffeine :P 

Makes sense. Yeah I feel fired up but erratic and make errors. I'm staring to think coffee only improves brain function...when you're already addicted to coffee. ^^

My experience is similar to what most of you said -- caffeine wakes you and  seems to accelerate thought, but it does not noticably improve chess performance.  I consume coffee twice daily to satisfy the caffeine-monkey on my back.

I too find that coffee has a negative impact on my game.  I used to be a daily coffee drinker but found my performance increased when I switched to drinking earl grey tea instead.  I now only rarely drink coffee.  Not only does tea have less caffeine and less of the negative effect of too much stimulation, but tea also contains a wonderful little chemical called theanine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theanine) that works in synergy with caffeine.  This produces a calming and relaxing effect combined with a boost of energy instead of the edginess I associate with coffee.

I am normally a tea drinker and have coffee maybe two or three times a week. several times for other personal reasons I have just decided to suddenly halt my caffeine intake completely meaning no coffee no tea no soda not even chocolate which has traces of caffeine. I've found that after the normal two or three days of headaches I adjust and am able to play Chess at my full ability again. I'm not sure if I play better with or without. I think the brain just needs a stable platform to operate at the precision that Chess demands. So if your used to 54 mg of caffeine a day than don't play rated games if your coffee machine broke. And if you just drank 6 red bulls than your brain is on the moon not the board.

If you just drank six Red Bulls, you should probably be in hospital, not playing chess. (I did play chess in hospital, but that's another story.)

ha ha yeah 6 is an exaggeration but u get the idea

Alcohol may improve one's performance in online blitz. It may also impair performance. I've cured many losing streaks with a glass of bourbon, and then fell back into the losing streak with the third glass of bourbon.

Someone once said to me many years ago Why don't you go along to the Kingshead pub in bayswater and have an enjoyable evening having several drinks and playing lots of 5 min games.It will improve your vision of the board.I only found that i ended up talking rubbish as well as playing rubbish

Sometimes coffee makes me play better, usually it makes me THINK I'm playing better right up until I blunder my queen away by moving it next to a pawn.

I rarely drink coffee these days. But when I do, it truly does make me better at chess and almost everything. Until the crash, at least.

I disagree with those who say it doesn't increase cognitive ability or energy, only thought activity. It definitely increases my cognitive ability and energy.

Yeah - coffee rocks!

The first coffee cup in a blitz session is worth 100 points in your "performance rating". It boosts up morale, makes you more alert - more into the game!! Yeah!! Kick their asses!!!!!

That's only if you like coffee and if it has that effect on you... 

The second coffee cup - well, bof.... after that, it's all diminishing returns.