CHESMAYNE

Midi: 61401-07

 

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 12 o’clock.   Electronic clocks are now used.  

                                                                                       

    These circular clocks show the time from 1 to 6 o’clock.  The ‘small hand’ indicates the hour and the ‘large hand’ the minute - simple!   Notice that the ‘long hand’ is at the 12 o’clock position on all of the dials? 

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.  

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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 7 to 12 o’clock.   The ‘small hand’ indicates the hour and the ‘large hand’ the minute – couldn’t be easier!   Notice that the ‘long hand’ is at the 12 o’clock position on all of the dials? 

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 (London).   Puch-button clocks were perfected by Veenhoff in 1900.   Electronic clocks were made in Kiev (1964).  

  

          Shimon Peres, Israel’s former PM introduced a chess timer to the Cabinet room to cut the waffle of his ministers.   Shimon’s stopwatch rang every five minutes, the maximum time allowed for ministers to put their points of view.   Maybe Israel’s new PM will continue this tradition!    Sand: symbol of infinity. 

     

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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). 

 

Claiming ILC is also considered a draw offer.  The TD should so advise the opponent.  It is the same as any other draw offer - good for that move only.   If the opponent chooses to play on he may win, lose or draw, but cannot say a few moves later, “I’ll take that draw now”.  He may offer a draw, of course, but the draw “offer” that automatically came with the original claim is no longer valid.  Especially since this now contradicts the USCF’s leaflet, “Clock Rules”, it is strongly advised that the TD explain this to both players”. 

 

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

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GARDE Electronic

Saitek

 

USCF
Gametime

 

Photo to be added soon

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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.

      


The Fischer mode and the DGT Tournament mode are not substitutions and may not be used in games under USCF time-delay rules.   They are not compatible with the delay or Bronstein since, in both cases, a pre-set amount of time is added for each move, regardless of how much thinking time has been used, and time can accumulate and possibly exceed the original time control. 

Chess clock  

Mechanical chess clocks have been used during competitive play since the London International Tournament of April 1883.   The clocks used today can be analogue or digital and it is usually placed at the side of the playing board.   When you make a move you stop your clock and start your opponents clock.  The clocks then countdown how much time each player has left to make all their moves before reaching the allocated time limit.   At the beginning of the game the clock of the player who has the :A pieces is started.   When the minute hand pointt towards the 12 a small flag falls.    If you do not make the specified number of moves when the flag falls you lose the game on time unless your opponent has insufficient material to checkmate.   If this occurs then the game is drawn.   There are various rates of play used in chess.   The following options are usually available:  Blitz has typical time limits of about five minutes for each player for all the moves of a game.   Rapidplay is played with typical time limits of thirty minutes for each player for all the moves of a game.   Local league chess has typical time controls of around 35 moves in 75 minutes and then perhaps 15 or 20 minutes in order to finish a game.   International chess [Level-01 of Chesmayne] has a standard time control of 40 moves in 2 hours and then an extra hour to reach move 60.   If the game is still in progress then a quickplay finish decides the game.   With the use of digital clocks it is common to play with an increment such as 2-12.   This means that each player has 2 minutes to make their moves and on each move they gain 12 seconds which is added to the time they have remaining on their clock.    Increments are also be used for longer games.   There are some points to bear in mind when using a chess clock:  Remember to press your clock after you have made your move.   Do not forget to check whether your opponent has lost on time [++LT].   It is the responsibility of the player to point out that h/er opponent has lost on time.   Press the clock with the same hand with which you have moved the MP/mp.   It is against the rules to keep your finger on the button or to hover your hand over the button.   You are not allowed to pick up the clock or punch it forcibly.    This can forfeit the game.   Keep score carefully so that you know when you have reached your time control.   Make sure you know what the time limit is before you start playing?  

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