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Have you ever bought a digital chess clock and then experienced frustration after reading the instructions? If so, you’re not alone. I believe these technical writers lack a conceptual framework within which to present their instructional ideas. As a result the ideas are presented poorly. The reader experiences cognitive overload. It’s a frustrating experience and success is attributed more to the reader’s tenacity than the writer’s lucidity.
This little article was constructed to create this missing conceptual framework. With it I think most players will have a better chance to easily understand and remember the instructions that came with their chess clock or those that came with their friend’s chess clock. Whatever your reason for reading this, I hope you find the time invested worthwhile.
Bear with me. I’m going to start with some very basic information and then I’m going to build on it till the article is finished.
All chess clocks count down time which serves to put pressure on a player to make a move. Analog clocks can only use the countdown method. A digital clock not only has the ability to count down time but also the ability to interfere with the countdown of time in a consistent and orderly manner. This distinction between analog and digital clocks is important to realize because it helps you to put the features of a digital clock in a good conceptual framework. So now we know that the digital clock offers the countdown method and the interference method with respect to time usage. Hereafter, these concepts will be called countdown and interference.
Countdown is always used during a period of chess. Interference is an optional feature that may or may not be used during the period.
I will develop the concept of a chess period and then connect this to the concept of playing rate. During the discussion about periods of chess I will keep things uncomplicated by staying with the use of countdown. When the period concept has been established I will develop the concept of interference.
Period. This is defined as an interval of time. Most people will intuitively think of a period as the time to finish a game of chess. That is, period, for most people, means time to play the whole game. I will call this the ‘default thinking’ about a period. For this discussion I will be assuming that, at least, several moves are made during a period.
When we think of soccer, we readily realize that this game is played out in two periods (halves). In hockey there are three periods of play. Between periods, the soccer and hockey players get a break. There may be forty-five minute periods in soccer and twenty minute periods in hockey. In soccer and hockey the periods are characterized only by the time.
In chess, the game goes on without a break till it’s finished. However, the time in a chess game can still be broken into periods. Unlike soccer and hockey, periods in chess can be characterized by the amount of time used and by the number of moves played. It is obvious that the time is recorded by the clock. The moves are recorded by the players but also by the clock each time a player presses his button to complete a move.
Rate. Obviously, all chess clocks impose a rate of play on the chess players who use them. For those of us who have forgotten or never thought much about it, rate is defined as the comparison of two unlike quantities. For chess clock purposes, the two unlike quantities are time and game or time and move(s). Specifically, we are interested in three types of rates:
a)Time allotment per game (ie. amount of time/game)
b)Time allotment for a certain number of moves (ie. amount of time/certain number of moves)
c)Time allotment per move (ie. amount of time/move)
Time Allotment per Game. This rate is easily understood because the game has only one period. This rate coincides with the ‘default thinking’. In this case the user of the clock simply decides the number of minutes each player gets to play the whole game.
Here is an example of a chess game with only one period (with no interference):
Period
60 minutes/game
Time Allotment for a Certain Number of Moves. You have to move away from the default thinking here. A game with this type of rate must have more than one period. Here the number of moves characterizes the period. The player must make the required number of moves within the time allotted for the period. A player with time left over during this period has this time added to the next period of play. Here is an example of a chess game with two periods (without interference):
First Period -- 40 moves/ 120 minutes
Second Period -- 60 minutes/game
The first period is characterized by the number of moves. The second period is characterized by the time. If the player finishes the first period (40 moves) in 100 minutes, he can use the time saved (20 minutes) in the second period. The second period, characterized by time, means the game must be finished within 80 minutes.
Here is an example of a chess game with three periods (without interference):
First Period -- 40 moves/120 minutes
Second Period -- 20 moves/40 minutes
Third Period -- 10 minutes/game
The first and second periods are characterized by the number of moves. The third period is characterized by the time. If the player finishes the first period (40 moves) in 100 minutes, he can use the time saved (20 minutes) in the second period. This means that the player will get 60 minutes (40 + 20 saved) to complete the second period (20 moves). After two periods are completed (60 moves), the third period begins. The player gets 10 minutes plus any time saved during the second period to finish the game.
In time allotment per game, and time allotment per certain number of moves, the time always counts down to zero from some starting number.
Time Allotment per Move. With the exception of Gong, this rate works to interfere with the countdown of time.
Typically, the time allotment per move is given in seconds. There are several types of interference and each has a name: Delay, Bonus, and Hourglass.
Gong. This is the only one that does not have a period as I have defined it. Gong is also the only one in this category that does not interfere with countdown. Each player is given a certain number of seconds to make his move. Time counts downward from this number. If the player makes his move within the required time, he gets the same number of seconds to make his next move. If the player does not make his move in the required time, he loses. This concept has also been called rapid transit chess.
Delay. With this feature, countdown is delayed by a certain number of seconds before each move is made. A good delay would be the number of seconds estimated for a player to write down his move and stop the clock. This feature ensures that time given to the players will be used mostly for thinking about making chess moves. Here is an example of a chess game with three periods (with a delay):
First Period -- 40 moves/120 minutes
Second Period -- 20 moves/40 minutes
Third Period -- 10 minutes/game
Delay -- 5 seconds/move
Each player’s countdown will be delayed by 5 seconds during each of the three periods. This will offset time to record the chess move and reach for the button to stop the clock.
Bonus. Time counts down for a player’s who has to move but that player will also get a certain number of seconds added to his clock after making the move. This is his bonus time. Here is an example of bonus being used with one period. This is one form of blitz time control.
Period
3 minutes/game
Bonus
2 seconds/move
Each player gets three minutes to play the game and 2 seconds of bonus time for every move he makes.
Hourglass. Imagine two players using one old-fashioned egg timer – you know, the one with sand in the glass – which they each flip over after making their move. The player having the move, when the sand stops flowing, is the loser. Sand lost by one player is gained by the other in this setup.
In hourglass time control using a digital clock, the player on the move loses seconds which are immediately put on his opponent's clock. In a sense, seconds lost by your opponent is the equivalent of bonus time. It’s different from bonus time in the sense you don’t know how much of a bonus you will get after each move you play. Presumably the more difficult you make the game for your opponent to play, the greater the bonus you will get. Let’s assume each player starts with a period of 1 minute using the hourglass feature. Here is an example.
Period
1 minute/game
Hourglass Bonus
unknown – the number of seconds used by your opponent
How to Set Your Clock. When you set your digital clock you are setting your time control for the game. I like to think of time control is a collective term that refers to any choice you make for rate of play which includes the chess period(s) and interference of countdown during the game.
You have three basic choices for time control:
1. Create your own
2. Use a preset time control that comes with the clock
3. Modify one of those preset time controls
Preset time controls are accessed by inputting specific numbers into the clock’s program. These numbers, and what they mean, are found in the instruction pamphlet and, sometimes, also on the bottom of the clock – for easy reference.
Ease of Operation. Some digital clocks are more difficult to use than others. In my estimation, the only way to compare digital clocks, without actually handling them and setting the time control, is to look at the instructions that come with them.
Personal Peeve. Retailers are not always receptive to the idea of making the instructions known to the public before the clock is purchased. I find this ridiculous retail behavior. If I buy a car, I can look at specifications and compare models. Why can’t I do that when I am trying to make up my mind about buying a chess clock? The instruction manuals or pamphlets should be made available to the public as a standard retail practice.
So at this point you might be wondering if I intended a reply to this post. The short answer is yes!
Specifically, I was wondering what I had missed in this conceptual framework. Also, I'd like to hear from those who have specific frustrations with clock features because this would be beneficial for those planning to make their first purchase or those making a new purchase.
I have the DGT 2010 and it was purchased after I bought the Duel Timer (2006). I think my first purchase was made during a transition period of digital clock construction.
In any case, the topic is fundamental to chess and interesting from many perspectives.
Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts on this.
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Thinking About Digital Chess Clock Concepts (Read 2379 times)
