vendredi 6 juillet 2012

Chess Clock: Ready to Play

By Gin P. Leon


What will happen if chess was played without time considerations? Would you even have the patience to watch a game of chess played in such a manner? I think not! You wouldn't care about what happens anymore since it takes each opponent ages before they make a move! That's why the game clock was invented. It is also called a chess clock even though it is also used in other games like Scrabble.

Composed of two clocks adjacent to each other, a chess clock has buttons that stop one clock while starting the other. It never runs concurrently. Typically utilized in games having 2 players taking turns, it logs in the total time each player takes when making their moves. This way, each player cannot employ delaying tactics when playing a game of chess. A chess match 1883 in London was the first occasion where a game clock was used.

At the outset, game clocks were all analog and utilized a "flag" that is triggered mechanically to fall, indicating the exact time the player's turn has ended. Its buttons stop one clock and starts the other. Of course, accuracy is the weakest point of every analog instrument. And these clocks don't allow for time extensions when it is needed in the game. Thus, digital game clocks entered the picture. Initially, it only has one mode: time running forward. It cannot be set to a specific time but can be reset easily. Its advent solved issues of accuracy and matched timing leveled against analog game clocks.

In time, digital game clocks have been perfected to a point that it matches the type of chess play one wants to engage in. For example, Fischer (from Bobby Fischer, a former chess world champion) Time Control gave each player a fixed period of time at the start of the game and then added a small amount after each move. Such time controls allow for the game to be finished more quickly. In 2004, the Fischer's system has been adopted by a very large number of top class chess tournaments. I can safely say that at this time, the number must have grown double.

You may use a basic time control when you play chess. When your opponent's time has run out, he loses. Usually, the game lasts from up to 7 hours to a short and speedy game of 30 to 60 minutes.




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