Effects of Caffeine on Chess Performance and Cognitive Function in Professional Chess Players (GRANDMASTER)
8. Juni 2026 aktualisiert von: Hossein Rafiei, St. Louis University
GRANDMASTER: Gauging the Role of Alertness and Neurostimulation With Dietary Caffeine in Master-Level Chess; A Double-Blind Randomized Crossover Trial
This study will examine whether caffeine improves cognitive and competitive performance in professional chess players during tournament-style games.
In a randomized double-blind crossover design, participants will complete two experimental sessions in which they consume either caffeinated coffee or decaffeinated coffee before playing a standardized chess match.
Cognitive performance will be assessed using attention and reaction-time tests, including the Stroop Test, Trail Making Test, and Puzzle Rush task.
Chess performance outcomes such as move accuracy, time management, and error rates will also be evaluated.
The study aims to determine whether moderate caffeine intake enhances focus, alertness, and decision-making during prolonged competitive chess play.
Studienübersicht
Status
Noch keine Rekrutierung
Intervention / Behandlung
Detaillierte Beschreibung
This randomized double-blind crossover trial will evaluate the effects of moderate caffeine intake on cognitive and competitive performance in professional chess players. Twelve FIDE-rated chess players will complete two experimental conditions in randomized order: caffeinated coffee and decaffeinated coffee placebo. During each visit, participants will complete standardized cognitive assessments and a tournament-style chess game under controlled laboratory conditions.
Primary outcomes will include objective chess performance metrics derived from chess engine analysis, including move accuracy, centipawn loss, error rates, and time management. Secondary outcomes will include cognitive test performance, tactical reaction time, and self-reported alertness and fatigue. Chess games will be analyzed using standardized software-based evaluation methods.
The crossover design allows each participant to serve as their own control, minimizing variability related to individual differences in skill level, caffeine tolerance, and playing style. The study aims to determine whether caffeine enhances sustained attention, decision-making, and competitive chess performance during prolonged gameplay. Findings may provide insight into nutritional strategies for cognitive performance optimization in mentally demanding competitive environments.
Studientyp
Interventionell
Einschreibung (Geschätzt)
12
Phase
- Unzutreffend
Kontakte und Standorte
Dieser Abschnitt enthält die Kontaktdaten derjenigen, die die Studie durchführen, und Informationen darüber, wo diese Studie durchgeführt wird.
Studienkontakt
- Name: Hossein Rafiei, PhD
- Telefonnummer: 13149778675
- E-Mail: hossein.rafiei@health.slu.edu
Studienorte
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Missouri
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St Louis, Missouri, Vereinigte Staaten, 63104
- Saint Louis University
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Kontakt:
- Hossein Rafiei, PhD
- Telefonnummer: 1314-977-8675
- E-Mail: hossein.rafiei@health.slu.edu
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Hauptermittler:
- Hossein Rafiei, PhD
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Teilnahmekriterien
Forscher suchen nach Personen, die einer bestimmten Beschreibung entsprechen, die als Auswahlkriterien bezeichnet werden. Einige Beispiele für diese Kriterien sind der allgemeine Gesundheitszustand einer Person oder frühere Behandlungen.
Zulassungskriterien
Studienberechtigtes Alter
- Erwachsene
Akzeptiert gesunde Freiwillige
Ja
Beschreibung
Inclusion Criteria:
- Male and female professional chess players aged 18-50 years
- Current Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) standard rating between 2300 and 2600 Elo, or achievement of a standard FIDE rating within this range during the previous 12 months
- Habitual caffeine consumers consuming ≤2 cups of coffee per day
- Willingness to comply with all study procedures and study visits
- Ability to provide written informed consent
Exclusion Criteria:
- Non-caffeine users
- Habitual caffeine intake exceeding 2 cups of coffee per day
- Cardiovascular disorders
- Metabolic disorders
- Psychiatric disorders
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Current smoking
- Shift workers
- Use of psychoactive medications
- Participation in another clinical trial within the previous 3 months
- Known allergy or intolerance to milk proteins, dairy products, or soy
- Known red-green color blindness or other color vision deficiencies that may interfere with Stroop Test performance
Studienplan
Dieser Abschnitt enthält Einzelheiten zum Studienplan, einschließlich des Studiendesigns und der Messung der Studieninhalte.
Wie ist die Studie aufgebaut?
Designdetails
- Hauptzweck: Grundlegende Wissenschaft
- Zuteilung: Zufällig
- Interventionsmodell: Crossover-Aufgabe
- Maskierung: Verdreifachen
Waffen und Interventionen
Teilnehmergruppe / Arm |
Intervention / Behandlung |
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Aktiver Komparator: Caffeinated Coffee
Participants will consume one serving of black caffeinated coffee prepared from 15 g of ground coffee brewed in 200 g of water, providing approximately 100 mg of caffeine.
The beverage will be consumed approximately 30 minutes before completion of cognitive testing and a standardized tournament-style chess game during the experimental visit.
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Black caffeinated coffee prepared from 15 g of ground coffee brewed in 200 g of water, providing approximately 100 mg of caffeine.
The beverage will be consumed approximately 30 minutes before cognitive testing and tournament-style chess gameplay.
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Placebo-Komparator: Decaffeinated Coffee Placebo
Participants will consume one serving of black decaffeinated coffee prepared to match the caffeinated coffee in taste and appearance.
The beverage will be consumed approximately 30 minutes before completion of cognitive testing and a standardized tournament-style chess game during the experimental visit.
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Black decaffeinated coffee prepared from the same batch of coffee beans and matched for taste and appearance to the caffeinated condition.
The beverage will be consumed approximately 30 minutes before cognitive testing and tournament-style chess gameplay.
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Was misst die Studie?
Primäre Ergebnismessungen
Ergebnis Maßnahme |
Maßnahmenbeschreibung |
Zeitfenster |
|---|---|---|
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Chess Performance Accuracy
Zeitfenster: 30 minutes after beverage consumption through completion of the tournament-style chess game at each experimental visit.
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Chess performance accuracy will be assessed using engine-based analysis of tournament-style chess games.
The primary reported metric will be average centipawn loss per move, with lower values indicating better chess performance accuracy.
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30 minutes after beverage consumption through completion of the tournament-style chess game at each experimental visit.
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Sekundäre Ergebnismessungen
Ergebnis Maßnahme |
Maßnahmenbeschreibung |
Zeitfenster |
|---|---|---|
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Puzzle Rush Correct Responses
Zeitfenster: Approximately 30 minutes after beverage consumption at each experimental visit.
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Tactical accuracy will be assessed using the 3-minute Puzzle Rush task on Chess.com.
The outcome will be the total number of correctly solved tactical puzzles, with higher scores indicating better tactical accuracy.
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Approximately 30 minutes after beverage consumption at each experimental visit.
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Puzzle Rush Response Speed
Zeitfenster: Approximately 30 minutes after beverage consumption at each experimental visit.
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Response speed will be assessed using the 3-minute Puzzle Rush task on Chess.com.
The outcome will be average response time per puzzle, with lower values indicating faster response speed.
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Approximately 30 minutes after beverage consumption at each experimental visit.
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Stroop Test Performance
Zeitfenster: Before gameplay and immediately after gameplay at each experimental visit.
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Selective attention will be assessed using the Stroop Test.
The outcome will be the change in Stroop Test completion time from before gameplay to immediately after gameplay, with lower completion time indicating better performance.
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Before gameplay and immediately after gameplay at each experimental visit.
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Trail Making Test Performance
Zeitfenster: Before gameplay and immediately after gameplay at each experimental visit.
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Cognitive flexibility and processing speed will be assessed using the Trail Making Test.
The outcome will be the change in Trail Making Test completion time from before gameplay to immediately after gameplay, with lower completion time indicating better performance.
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Before gameplay and immediately after gameplay at each experimental visit.
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Self-Reported Alertness
Zeitfenster: Pre-game and immediately post-game at each experimental visit.
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Self-reported alertness will be assessed using a study-specific visual analog questionnaire.
Higher scores will indicate greater perceived alertness.
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Pre-game and immediately post-game at each experimental visit.
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Self-Reported Mental Fatigue
Zeitfenster: Pre-game and immediately post-game at each experimental visit.
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Self-reported mental fatigue will be assessed using a study-specific visual analog questionnaire.
Higher scores will indicate greater perceived mental fatigue.
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Pre-game and immediately post-game at each experimental visit.
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Average Time Per Move
Zeitfenster: From the start of the tournament-style chess game until game completion, assessed over approximately 3 to 4 hours at each experimental visit.
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Chess time management will be assessed as the average time used per move during each tournament-style chess game.
This value will be calculated from the total game time divided by the number of moves completed by the participant.
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From the start of the tournament-style chess game until game completion, assessed over approximately 3 to 4 hours at each experimental visit.
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Mitarbeiter und Ermittler
Hier finden Sie Personen und Organisationen, die an dieser Studie beteiligt sind.
Sponsor
Ermittler
- Hauptermittler: Hossein Rafiei, PhD, St. Louis University
Studienaufzeichnungsdaten
Diese Daten verfolgen den Fortschritt der Übermittlung von Studienaufzeichnungen und zusammenfassenden Ergebnissen an ClinicalTrials.gov. Studienaufzeichnungen und gemeldete Ergebnisse werden von der National Library of Medicine (NLM) überprüft, um sicherzustellen, dass sie bestimmten Qualitätskontrollstandards entsprechen, bevor sie auf der öffentlichen Website veröffentlicht werden.
Haupttermine studieren
Studienbeginn (Geschätzt)
15. Juni 2026
Primärer Abschluss (Geschätzt)
1. Juni 2027
Studienabschluss (Geschätzt)
1. August 2027
Studienanmeldedaten
Zuerst eingereicht
24. Mai 2026
Zuerst eingereicht, das die QC-Kriterien erfüllt hat
8. Juni 2026
Zuerst gepostet (Tatsächlich)
11. Juni 2026
Studienaufzeichnungsaktualisierungen
Letztes Update gepostet (Tatsächlich)
11. Juni 2026
Letztes eingereichtes Update, das die QC-Kriterien erfüllt
8. Juni 2026
Zuletzt verifiziert
1. Juni 2026
Mehr Informationen
Begriffe im Zusammenhang mit dieser Studie
Schlüsselwörter
Zusätzliche relevante MeSH-Bedingungen
Andere Studien-ID-Nummern
- SLU-CHESS-CAFF-2026
Plan für individuelle Teilnehmerdaten (IPD)
Planen Sie, individuelle Teilnehmerdaten (IPD) zu teilen?
NEIN
Beschreibung des IPD-Plans
Individual participant data (IPD) will not be publicly shared because this is a small pilot study involving highly specialized professional chess players, and there is potential risk of participant identification despite de-identification procedures.
Arzneimittel- und Geräteinformationen, Studienunterlagen
Studiert ein von der US-amerikanischen FDA reguliertes Arzneimittelprodukt
Nein
Studiert ein von der US-amerikanischen FDA reguliertes Geräteprodukt
Nein
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