Looking for a good work-out? Play chess!

At Here Goes, a post on how a chess game provides a harder work-out than a triathlon:

I'm posting this quick entry to describe a very strange phenomenon I've noticed when I play chess. It actually is harder on me physically than triathlons! Once we reach the middle of the game, while I'm waiting quietly for my opponent to move, I notice that my breathing becomes shorter and more rapid, my heart pounds, I smell funny from the sweat drenching my underarms.

Either I'm really not pushing very hard when I compete in triathlons or the competition in chess games is more psychologically and physically compelling than triathlons.

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I have no context for comparing chess to a triathlon, and a long walk can't possibly be a reasonable substitute. Nevertheless, I can relate to how draining a long tournament game can be. Particularly after weekend tournaments, when I played 4 or 5 games over two days, I remember being completely exhausted. On more than one occasion I fell ill at the end or shortly thereafter.