Cortisol and Testosterone Responses in Chess Players during an International Chess Tournament

Abstract

Chess is a strategic atypical sport and a highly cognitive task demanding mental and physical alertness, in which players are deeply committed and experience intense emotions. Evidence supports that chess elicits physiological responses and induces stress-associated hormonal changes. PURPOSE: This study investigated potential changes in free salivary cortisol and testosterone in chess players during a tournament. METHODS: Thirty male active chess players participated in the study (age: 43.2±12.4 yrs, Elo score: 1903.2±341.5), competing in a 9-round chess tournament (Swiss pairing system). Unstimulated mixed saliva samples were collected in salivate swabs at 3 time points: baseline, after the 2nd and 3rd round and, for the 10 finalists also after the 6th and 7th round (19:00-23:25 pm.).The saliva samples were analyzed for cortisol and testosterone by ELISA and student T-test was used for statistics. RESULTS: Testosterone levels exhibited a trend of decrease, from 77.7±105.1 ng/ml at baseline to 38.7±46.6 ng/ml after the 2nd and 3rd round, to 25.3±20.7 ng/ml after the 6th and 7th round, however without reaching statistical significance (p>0.05). Cortisol levels increased from 4.4±3.3 ng/ml at baseline to 7.6±6.8 ng/ml after the 2nd and 3rd round in all participants (p<0.05). In the 10 finalists, however, cortisol showed no significant changes through the 3 time points (from 3.5±2.8 ng/ml to 6.0±4.8 ng/ml to 5.3±2.9 ng/ml; p>0.05). Significant percentage changes of cortisol were found compared to baseline (277±384.5% ng/ml and 207.6±113.7% ng/ml; p<0.01). Interestingly, in the finalists, cortisol to testosterone ratio exhibited a significant increase only after the 2nd and 3rd round, from 0.1±0.1 to 0.4±0.3 (p<0.01), contrary to the all participants’ ratio, which declined from 1.4±6.8 to 0.4±0.3 (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that testosterone levels are not significantly affected by the stress of the game in contrast to cortisol levels, which are significantly increased. Interestingly, although cortisol levels of top chess players (finalists) did not show significant changes during the tournament, however their cortisol to testosterone ratio was elevated after the first rounds, implying an increased physiological stress of these players at the beginning of the tournament.