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Drug Enhancers for Chess

http://www.latimes.com/science/la-he-hl-brain-cognitive-enhancers-20170518-story.html

"The improvement was subtle — essentially, the equivalent of giving a player the opening move. But over many games, the authors reckoned the edge from 20 milligrams of Ritalin or 200 milligrams of Provigil could elevate a player’s ranking substantially in the competitive world of tournament chess.

It had a key trade-off, though. Players who got Ritalin or Provigil also played more deliberately — and those who were slower and more methodical players to begin with were more likely to mismanage their time and lose when taking the drug."
I don't see the point of taking a drug, the only thing that improves performance is study and practice (or just being Paul Morphy).
Many years ago there was an article about drugs and chess in KINGPIN Magazine called: Do the Drugs Work. The drug in question was Preludin, and the conclusion seemed to be, no, it doesn't.
Edging during a game is good to keep the adrenaline high. Just helps with me
The drug free solution is to eat well and get enough sleep that you do not need any substances or an alarm clock to wake you up. Then you can start playing better chess by calculating the moves as deep as you can. This does not mean to analyze the position with all its variants.
What a player needs is to learn a few opening lines.
Learn 3 main pawn openings: (1. c4...), (1. d4...) and (1. e4 ...). Then learn the forth main line that starts with Nf3. Take note of the common opening traps and apply chess principles to play well.
Do more specific tactical puzzles in the areas you are weak in and take the time to play them out correctly.
When playing the Black pieces, play asymmetrically. This should help counter attack White's first move initiative.

Learning and solving chess combinations is the natural solution to getting better at chess.
I wouldn't be shocked if "study drugs" would have an positive effect on chess. Playing a tournament is exhausting and it can be very hard to get enough sleep. That being said it is probably not worth it. Especially since caffein is perfectly legal and delicious.
@Lovlas and Fireworks: I read somewhere (or saw it in a video) that Botvinnik, in his later years, found the wonder of coffee to help him stay focused. ;} (Think they also said it wasn't so easy or cheap to get coffee in the USSR at that time... see, being a GM has its perks!)

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