Of Mind and Body

In this wonderful column, Quah Seng Sun, from Malaysia, shares his experiences of the 22-day Malaysian Chess Festival. Many of us can connect with what he's saying. Chess is, indeed, downright physically demanding.

However, chess can be physically very demanding on players. The tension builds up in your body during a game. You are coiled like a spring, all tensed up in attack or defence. After a day of hard thinking, there is little time to uncoil before you subject yourself to the same tension again.