How air pollution can checkmate chess players

Chess players are likely to perform worse in areas where air pollution is high, a new study has found. The study titled ‘Indoor Air Quality and Strategic Decision-Making’, which is co-authored by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology _(_MIT) researcher, is published in the journal Management Science. It shows that with a small rise in fine particulate matter in the air the probability of players making mistakes increased by 2.1 percentage points, and the magnitude of those errors hiked by 10.8 per cent, reported Science Daily. What is fine particulate matter? How was the research carried out? How does the study link air pollution to chess players’ moves? Let’s understand. Fine particulate matter Fine particulate matter or PM2.5 is an air pollutant that is 2.5 microns or less in width. PM 2.5 particles are mostly emanated from vehicles, burning of fossil fuels, coal plants and wildfires. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) estimate, air pollution drives over 4 million premature deaths globally every year, caused due to cancer, cardiovascular problems, and other diseases. How was the study conducted? The researchers analyased the performance of 121 chess players in three seven-round tournaments in Germany in 2017, 2018, and 2019, consisting of over 30,000 chess moves. During the research period, the scholars used real-time web-connected sensors located inside tournament venues to measure carbon dioxide, PM2.5 concentrations and temperature. As each tournament lasted for eight weeks, the researchers were able to connect changes in air quality to a player’s performance. [caption id=“attachment_12099262” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A rise in the fine particulate matter can worsen the performance of chess players. Pixabay (Representational Image)[/caption] They used Stockfish, an open-source artificial intelligence chess engine, to assess the quality of actual moves the players made as compared to optimal moves, as per The Guardian. During the tournaments, the PM2.5 concentrations fell between 14 to 70 micrograms per cubic metre of air, which is a common level of exposure in cities in the US and other places, according to Science Daily. The authors also studied data from 20 years of games from the first division of the German chess league to determine if their findings were replicated. They discovered the same effects of air pollution on some of the best players from that data. ALSO READ: Death by Air: Can pollution cause stillbirth? Findings of the study After considering other factors such as noise, and changes in mercury and carbon dioxide concentrations, the researchers found that air pollution was leading to a dip in a player’s performance. “We find that when individuals are exposed to higher levels of air pollution, they make more mistakes, and they make larger mistakes,” Juan Palacios, an economist in MIT’s Sustainable Urbanization Lab, and co-author of the paper, said, as per Science Daily. “It’s pure random exposure to air pollution that is driving these people’s performance,” Palacios was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “Against comparable opponents in the same tournament round, being exposed to different levels of air quality makes a difference for move quality and decision quality.” The study also discovered that as air pollution worsened, the quality of a chess player’s performance deteriorated when facing time restrictions. The players had to make 40 moves within 110 minutes, as per the tournament rules. As per Science Daily, for 31-40 moves, a surge of 10 micrograms per cubic meter in air pollution resulted in a 3.2 per cent increased probability of error, with the magnitude of these mistakes growing by 17.3 per cent. “We find it interesting that those mistakes especially occur in the phase of the game where players are facing time pressure,” Palacios said, as per Science Daily. “When these players do not have the ability to compensate [for] lower cognitive performance with greater deliberation, [that] is where we are observing the largest impacts.” As per The Guardian, Chess.com’s Leon Watson said that professional players have already started observing air quality while playing. “Cognition is obviously incredibly important in chess and already some of the top players like Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri have cottoned on to how important air quality is." [caption id=“attachment_12099302” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Many chess players, including Anish Giri and Magnus Carlsen, have understood the importance of air quality while playing. AFP File Photo[/caption] “When competing from home in the big Champions Chess Tour events, players now routinely monitor their CO2 and particulate matter levels using [air monitors] and use the data to create the perfect environment to play in … like in any sport, fine margins are important. The difference may be marginal, but players will inevitably try to eliminate any competitive disadvantages", Watson added. Meanwhile, researchers of the study have warned of the far-reaching consequences of air pollution on people’s cognitive ability in many other settings. “There are more and more papers showing that there is a cost with air pollution, and there is a cost for more and more people,” Palacios said, as per Science Daily. “And this is just one example showing that even for these very [excellent] chess players, who think they can beat everything – well, it seems that with air pollution, they have an enemy who harms them.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.