CHESMAYNE
Clock
A device for regulating the amount of time
allowed to make a series of moves
during a game (time limit - see history). On an 8 x 8 board, 40 moves are made in 2
hours. During the next hour 20 moves
should be made. On larger chess boards
longer time periods are allowed ie, 10 x 10, 12 x 12
etc. This usually consists of a
mechanism for recording separately the time taken for Alpha’s
and Beta’s moves. One clock ticks while
the other remains silent. The tipping
of a beam or the depression of a button starts the other clock. The first real chess clock was produced by Amandus Schierwater in 1884. D.B. Meijer introduced the idea of a ‘flag’
suspended above the 3rd minute before
These
circular clocks show the time from
Before the introduction of clocks in the 1880s,
two sandglasses were used. In 1861 a chess
clock was introduced. Prior to this the
amount of time allowed for moves was not regulated and some games went on for
hours and hours ie, ‘till the cows came home’. The chess clock used today has two
mechanisms which are joined together and each of these starts when a lever is
pressed on one of the clocks, after a move has been made. Each player is required to make a set number
of moves in a given time period. If the
number of moves required in a given time-frame have not been played, the game
is forfeited (see Level-1, game-01 ‘Kasparov
versus Short’, ++LT). This leads to time-scrambles by the players
and it often happens that a player will have to make five or ten moves in a few
minutes, in order to beat h/er clock. The first mechanical clock was invented by
Giovanni de Dondi in 1362.
“A little alarm now and then keeps life from
stagnation”.
In serious tournaments and matches each player has a fixed
amount of time to play either a certain number of moves or the whole
game. A player who exceeds the time
limit loses as long as h/er opponent has enough material left to get checkmate. A chess clock has two faces. On making a move the player presses the
button on top of h/er clock to start his opponent’s
clock ticking. Digital clocks are now
being used in many tournaments. A
mechanical device used to time tournament games which no one ever pays
attention to until that little red marker
is about to fall! Paired
clocks used in all official tournaments and in club games. After a player moves, s/he depresses a lever
that stops h/er clock and starts h/er opponent’s. Each
clock, therefore, registers only the elapsed time for one player. If a player exceeds the time limit set on
h/er clock, a flag falls and s/he loses the game,
even if s/he has a clear winning position.
Paired clocks used in all
sanctioned tournaments and in many club games.
Fischer Clock link
During the 18th
century the introduction of the clock made chess players careful in the
management of their time allocation, and so played a part in speeding up the
length of a game. A suitable clock with
set times allocated for playing on the various levels of chess is needed. The newer boards, 8 x 8 (traditional chess), 11 x 9 (Chinese
Chess), 10 x 10, 12 x 12 etc,
need longer and longer time periods, depending on the level of complexity. When playing with friends [or enemies] there
is usually no time
limit to the number of moves
that may be made but in serious play a chess clock is used and each contestant
has a predetermined amount of time to make all the moves.
Again - these circular clocks show the time
from
If you cannot make all your moves within the
time frame, you forfeit the game.
Usually, the time allowed to decide on a move is limited. Chess contests are played to a time limit of
40 moves in two hours and 20 moves per hour after this time on an 8 x 8 board (D-Array). Failure to meet this deadline leads to
automatic loss of a match (++LT). On average you would have to
move every 3 minutes to stay within the 2 hour deadline. This may seem a lot of time, but many
players find that the clock revolves faster than their brains ability to
solve the complex situations that arise in endgame scenarios.
Pressure of time can often
lead to mistakes as the excitement of a time scramble can disorientate your judgement. Deep
searching play can result in loss of time when in fact the obvious move can be
found in less than a few minutes. A
worst-case scenario that can arise in a contest is having
to move, say 14 MPs/mps, with five minutes remaining on your clock. To find yourself in
such a position is like giving your opponent odds and can lead to loss of creative
play. You will find that your enemy is
the clock and the moral obvious - keep an eye on the time or, you will find
yourself in trouble in the latter stages of a contest. Try to play at an even rate and remain
objective at all times. As the contest
progresses, the position on the board will also change. View each new position with a fresh mind
without too many flashbacks from earlier
stages in the game. Remember that as long as your
opponent has MPs/mps, they can be moved and may become dangerous. Do not leave yourself short of time, but if
you do, keep a note of the number of plays.
If you are in the lead, keep play simple and use your opponents
time-frame to anticipate the response move.
It is difficult to play a defensive
game when time is short. Give up material to
maintain the initiative. If your opponent is short on
time, do not quicken your pace as you will be giving away an advantage. Trust your instinct when short of time and
remember that over-concentration is just as bad as under-concentration. In an amateur club a move is not legally
completed until your opponents clock has been
restarted. Games have been lost in
the time between playing the last move and the punching of the clock (Symbol, ++LT = Loss-on-Time). The first mechanical chess clock was invented by
Thomas Wilson in 1883. Sandglasses
were first used in 1862 (
Shimon Peres,
Digital Chess Clocks have been around for at least 15 years. The original models, like any new product,
were an interesting blend of exciting innovation and buggy and featureless technology. They have been getting better and for the
past few years, a digital clock with time delay mode has been the preferred
clock in USCF tournament play. It is the delay feature which is useful in
that it allows claims of insufficient losing chances to be proven on the
board. Tournament Directors are not always masters of the game and asking them to adjudicate many endgame positions
is like asking them to hit as many home runs as Mark Maguire. One option available to a director in an
insufficient losing chances claim is to place a time delay clock on the
board, with the claimant having 1/2 his/her remaining time up to 1 minute
(read maximum - 1 minute) with a 5 second delay and the opponent having all
his/her time plus the delay. Assuming
the game is really a draw, with a 5 second delay, it can be proven on the board. Recently,
there has been some controversy about the nature of the insufficient losing
chances claim - is it good for only one move or is it a standing offer of a
draw where a draw is the best result the claimant can get, even if the
opponent hangs pieces or gets mated. The USCF
website and digital clock pamphlet had this interpretation and it was
confusing to both player and TD. Here
is an example of the confusion - player A makes an insufficient losing chances claim and
during the continuation of the game, player B either gets mated or loses material (when A would
normally win) or Player A’s flag falls - the recent interpretation of standing draw offer meant that
Player A could not win the game, that a draw was the best result because of
the claim and that the TD could still call the game a draw after the flags
had fallen. There is a brand new USCF
Rules Committee decision has been made and this is the decision: (4/99).
All TDs and players must be aware of the fact that the “delay” or
“incremental” time allotment that can be set into the Bronstein or Fischer
time controls when in the manual mode can be set differently for each of the
two players. It is possible, for
instance, to have white getting 5 seconds and black only 3 seconds if
programming is done carelessly. One of the problems with digital clocks is how to set them! Few TDs know how to set every brand of
digital clock and more than a few players do not know how to set their own
clock!! Know your own equipment - why
buy new equipment and then ask a TD to set it for you? Below are some explanations for each
clock, recently sent to me by NTD Carol Jarecki,
chair of the USCF Rules Committee.... SETTING DIGITAL CLOCKS Tips for TDs The
following guidelines and remarks are not meant as recommendations or
criticisms of any of the clocks described.
They are being presented as assistance for TDs who are faced with the
challenge of having to adjust various digital clocks during tournaments, and
as a few helpful tips on some possible idiosyncrasies. Carol Jarecki, NTD |
Click on any of the digital
clocks for a description of setting that clock:
Chronos |
FIDE Digital Game Timer |
Duel Timer |
GARDE
Electronic |
Saitek |
USCF |
Clocks which do not have a USCF-type time delay |
Those clocks that do not have a USCF-type of time delay offer the Bronstein
mode as an alternative method. In
both cases, additional time is allowed per move, without time
accumulating. The only difference is
that the USCF method prevents loss of a specific, pre-set, amount of time at
the beginning of each move while the Bronstein gives it back at the end of
the move. In neither case can a
player end a game with more time than at the beginning, no matter how fast
the moves are played.
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Mechanical chess clocks have been used during
competitive play since the