CHESS CLOCKS - WHAT ARE THEY?

It is a well known fact that chess players who compete at tournaments must play efficiently and rapidly. At tournaments players have a limited amount of time to plan their move and they are aided by the chess game clock. The chess clock was not a part of the game in the old days, yet it is not easy now to find a chess competition, amateur or professional alike, that does not use chess clock rules.

There are 2 common types of chess clocks--the traditional (analog or digital) clock and Fischer-clock. The traditional chess clock has 2 time counters, 1 for each player. Once a player makes his move, he presses a button which halts his counter and starts the opponent's. This act continues until the very end of the game. In analog clocks there is a flag that will fall if time has concluded for one player, while digital clocks will beep to signal that. The Fischer-clock, suggested and named honoring former World Champion Grandmaster Robert Fischer, is applied in a similar way. The difference is that a constant amount of time (say 5 or 10 seconds) is added after every move. This aids players from stumbling into time-trouble.

The negotiated time controls are in relevance with the chess game clock used. Time controls may change from game to game. Players need to think of the time controls declared when a tournament is to be played.

Shorter time controls give chess games different names. A standard game most commonly has a time quota of 2 hours or more. A quick game is played in the range of 20-45 minutes, and a blitz game in the range 5-15 minutes. There are even shorter time controls, like 3 minutes per game or 1 minute per game, commonly referred to as 'lightning' or 'bullet', usually only played online. One that is not at home with chess will find them draining.

But what happens if a player fails to complete his move in time? Basically, he loses the game. There is an exception--if the player who still has time does not have sufficient material to win, then the game is drawn. Adding to this, a player who would generally win the game, had he enough time, may call the arbiter and suggest a draw. The arbiter will look at the position and form his decision. There are various issues pertaining to time controls but they are normally tournament-specific. In the majority of tournaments, players are in charge of checking their opponent's time; in others the arbiter might show a flag fall as well. These details are indeed of little significance and chess clock rules are reconsidered every now and then.

What is truly crucial is the way a player makes use of his time. A player should try to avoid getting into trouble. One should try playing slower, or he faces the risk in blundering. Use of time has to be logical. If 2 hours are available for the whole game, this means about 3 minutes per move (assuming a game is averaging about 40 moves). If one feels that the game is going to be rather long, he can play a bit faster. Early moves generally require little thought and some moves are more or less automatic. On the contrary, hard situations will involve more thinking and thus additional time. In practical chess it is always advantageous to have more time available than the opposer has. Most of all it is necessary to pay attention to the chess game clock and stick with the chess clock rules.