Digital chess clocks

Digital chess clocks

The digital chess clock was invented in 1973. Commercial models followed, but it was not until 1994 that FIDE gave it formal recognition. Over the past 10 to 15 years, digital clocks have become increasingly popular and are used at all levels of the game. They have several advantages over the traditional analogue clock: they are more accurate, they show you exactly how much time you have left, and they allow a wider range of time controls to be used. Also they are now reasonably close to analogue clocks in price. The only real disadvantage is that digital clocks are more complex designs: they take longer to set up and amend, and if they go wrong they're harder to fix. A close acquaintance with the manual is recommended!

Digital clocks are used by a minority of clubs in the Civil Service Chess League. But there is growing interest. This page is intended as a resource for any club thinking of investing in digital clocks. It addresses questions such as, What features does a clock need to have for use in the League? and How much do they cost? And there are details of just about all the digital clocks that are currently available in the UK and elsewhere, together with a copy of the manual where available.

Features

Digital clocks come with many different time controls. The three main types are:
• The game is completed in a single session, with a range of timing options such as blitz (5 minutes) each, rapidplay (30 minutes each), and slowplay (90 minutes each). No additional increment of time.
• The game is completed over two or more sessions (generally known as a tournament time control), ending in a rapidplay finish, or in some other way, such as referring unfinished games to adjudication at the end of the playing session. No additional increment of time.
• The game is completed over either one session or more than one session, incorporating a time delay whereby a specified amount of time (usually measured in seconds) is added to each player's clock before or after he makes his move. These are known as Fischer or Bronstein settings, after their inventors.
Most of the time control options are pre-set, but there are usually some user-programmable options which allow you to set other time periods which are different from the standard ones.

The second kind of time control (tournament) is the only type used in the Civil Service Chess League. As League players will know, two different forms of tournament time control are used:
• 36 moves in 90 minutes followed by a further 6 moves in 15 minutes, continuing in 15-minute periods until the game is over or the end of the playing session is reached. Unfinished games can be sent for adjudication. This is the default option. In short, it's a fixed first session followed by a repeatable second session.
• 30 moves in 75 minutes followed by all remaining moves in a further 15 minutes (a rapidplay finish). This is available only if both players agree to use it. This is a fixed first session followed by a guillotine.

The particular time controls used in the Civil Service Chess League are not standard – or at any rate, are not among those that FIDE itself uses. There do not seem to be any digital clocks in which the League time controls come as pre-set. So potential buyers need to pay close attention to the user-programmable options. Not only should there be at least two of these, they should also be programmable on tournament time control lines. So you are looking for at least two relevant programmable options.

It's probably worth pointing out that if your club plays in other leagues and they have different time controls, you will need a clock with additional relevant programmable options. Otherwise you may find yourself with just one programmable setting for two different time controls, and you might have to change from one to the other before the start of every home match. Setting up 8 digital clocks every week or two can become rather tedious after a while.

Price

Prices range from about £20 to £90. The very basic models tend not to have the features needed for playing in the League. Apart from that, there doesn't seem to be any significant correlation between features and price. The most suitable models are not necessarily the most expensive. It pays to shop around because prices for the same clock do vary quite a bit from one retailer to another.

If you're buying clocks for a team (i.e. a minimum purchase of 5 clocks), you should get a discount from any retailer. Obviously the more clocks you buy, the bigger the discount. It would make sense to ask whether other clubs are also thinking of buying clocks since a bulk order will save money all round.

Again, if you're buying for a team, you shouldn't have to pay shipping costs, at least not if you buy from retailers based in the UK. Overseas retailers may have to charge shipping, or offer a lower discount to compensate. Against that, prices do seem to be higher in the UK than anywhere else.

Clocks

The following list contains 11 digital clocks offered by several retailers in the UK and elsewhere. Each entry contains the name of the clock, an image of the clock, its price, a link to the retailer, a copy of the clock manual where available, and some text commenting on its features and suitability. The clocks are grouped by manufacturer.

All details are correct as at August 2010.

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DGT 2010

£59.95 from the London Chess Centre
£59.95 from ChessDirect

Manual: Yes

The successor to the DGT 2000, and the new official FIDE clock. It has a larger display with more information and is (apparently) much easier to programme. The clock offers slightly more options than the DGT 2000: 13 timing methods and 34 time control options. There are two relevant programmable options, the same as with the DGT 2000. These are also numbered options 5 and 9.

The large display is attractive, and this is a better clock than the DGT 2000, but does this justify the higher price? At least it should be easy to get hold of.

DGT XL

£69.95 from the London Chess Centre

Manual: Yes

Another top-of-the range clock from DGT (how many do they need?). This model was actually introduced earlier than the DGT 2010 (in 2003, rather than 2007). Confusingly, both of them have been described as successors to the DGT 2000, but it's clear from the manuals that the XL is a quite different clock. Its main claim to fame is that it can be used with DGT electronic boards for the live broadcast of games over the internet.

There are fewer time control options (only 22). There is one user-programmable option within which you can save five different settings. These are all based on the 22 pre-sets – and these do not include the tournament time control with a repeating second session (Civil Service Chess League adjudication mode). So this clock would seem to fail the basic test for use in the League.

DGT Easy Game Timer

£24.95 from the London Chess Centre

Manual: Yes

This is the entry-level digital clock from DGT. It's their cheapest model, and it comes in a range of bright colours. It seems to be aimed at those who are new to the idea of using time controls in chess (and other games) – apparently it is easy to programme and use.

According to the manual, this is essentially a single-session clock. The only way of continuing into second and later sessions is to pause and reset the clocks manually at the end of the first time control. If that sounds familiar, it's because that's the method you use to adjust the time on an analogue clock.

This means the DGT Easy Game Timer is not suitable for use in Civil Service Chess League games.

DGT Easy Plus

£29.95 from the London Chess Centre

Manual: Same as DGT Easy Game Timer.

This is the same clock as the DGT Easy Game Timer, with one additional feature. It is possible to include a time delay in the time control setting. This seems to be an increment of up to 5 seconds after the move.

The clock comes in a box with a picture of Vladimir Kramnik on the front and the caption: "Kramnik's choice." Really? Let's see him bring it along when he turns out on top board for UNATS…

Anyway, for the same reason as above, this clock is also not suitable for use in Civil Service Chess League games.

DGT 960

£24.95 from the London Chess Centre

Manual: Yes

This is the only chess clock on the market that randomly generates starting positions for use in Fischerrandom chess. Unveiled by Fischer in Argentina in 1996, this version of chess has 960 different starting positions – hence the name of the clock. The clock itself folds in two and so is extremely portable.

The time control options are all manually set and include a time delay option. Unfortunately for Chess Service Chess League clubs, the settings are all within the parameter of single session chess – there is no provision for going into a second session.

Saitek Competition Game Clock

£24.99 from the London Chess Centre

Manual: Yes

Saitek's introductory clock is relatively easy to use and programme (the manual is helpful). One of its distinguishing features is the plunger of the player whose turn it is to move glows green. The light turns red if a player fails to make the time control. (The light feature is optional).

The clock has 10 pre-set modes, both single session and tournament, and there is an optional 5-second time delay. None of the pre-set modes matches the Civil Service Chess League time controls. The pre-set modes can all be altered but, importantly, altered pre-set modes are not saved in the memory.

That leaves the user-programmable options, and there is only one of these. This can be set to either of the League time controls, but of course would need to be reset each time the players wanted a different option. As explained in the introduction, this is tedious.

Saitek Competition Pro

£34.95 from the London Chess Centre

Manual: Yes

The "Pro" version of the Saitek Competition Game Clock. The higher price brings significantly more time control options – 22 pre-set options and three user-programmable options. However, as with Saitek's entry-level clocks, none of the pre-sets matches the Civil Service Chess League controls.

The three user modes can be all be programmed on tournament lines so it is possible to set both the League time controls, quickplay and adjudication, and have one mode left over for using with other leagues. The tournament mode includes an option for a repeatable second session, which makes it suitable for use in the League. This clock has another advantage over others, which is that programmed modes are saved in memory and will remain in memory even if the next game is played to a different time control. This makes it a lot easier to set up the clocks at the start of each match.

BHB Digital Chess Clock

£49.95 from ChessDirect

Manual: Yes

Better-known for their analogue clocks, the German company BHB have now produced their first digital clock. It has 30 pre-set options including some tournament options, and five user-programmable options. Each of these is completely flexible (so can be programmed for any type of time control). They allow up to nine time-control periods. Although less ideal than a repeatable second session, players would have to reach move 84 before having to reset the clock and by that stage they would not be in any danger of losing on time. (Even if your opponent moves at the speed of light, you only have to make a maximum of 72 moves in a 3-hour session using the Civil Service Chess League time control.) So this would overcome the problem with the Saitek Competition Pro.

On this basis, the BHB clock does seem to be suitable for use in the Civil Service Chess League. And since there are five user-defined settings, you can use two for this league and still have three left over for other leagues your club plays in. Clubs in this situation will find the BHB clock more suitable than the DGT 2000 and DGT 2010.

Garde Digital Chess Clock

£89.95 from the London Chess Centre

Manual: Yes

Another digital debut from a German analogue clock manufacturer (Ruhla). This is one of the newest and most expensive models on the market. It offers a robust and elegant wooden design, with possibly the largest and clearest digital display of any digital clock. What does it offer by way of time control options? A total of 20 settings, including 5-minute blitz, 30-minute rapidplay, a range of tournament options with or without Bronstein and Fischer modes, and four programmable options.

However, the clock was not designed with the Civil Service Chess League in mind. First, the time controls are limited to three phases, like the Saitek Competition Pro. There is no option for a repeatable second session so the clock can only take you to move 48. That's not enough. Second, none of the four programmable options can be set for the League's rapidplay finish time control (one programmable option is for a single-session rapidplay up to 60 minutes each, and the other three all involve Fischer or Bronstein modes). It is possible to change the settings on the pre-set options – in this case option 00, which is a standard two-session option with no increments – and the settings remain in memory if the clock is turned off, but if you set the clock to a different option and then go back to the one you changed, it reverts to its original setting.

For these reasons, the Garde Digital Chess Clock is entirely unsuitable for use in the Civil Service Chess League. And very expensive.

Chess Timer Silver

Schach Timer Silver

£37.29 from ECI (€44.90)

Manual: Yes

Another German digital clock, this time endorsed by Victor Korchnoi: "The large display makes it very easy to read the remaining thinking time. Chess Timer Silver had been standing the test during the European Senior Team Championship and is to be recommended for big tournaments."

According to the manual, there are 12 pre-set options and one user-programmable option. This can be set to the League's quickplay time control. It can also be set to the adjudication time control, but (as with the Saitek Competition Pro) this is limited to a maximum of three periods.

So this clock is also not suitable for use in the Civil Service Chess League.

Chronos Digital Chess Clock II – Touch Switch

Chronos Touch Switch

£62.94 from The Chess Store ($99.95)

Manual: Yes

Apparently the Chronos range of digital chess clocks are the most popular in the USA.

The first thing you notice about this clock is that you activate the timer in a different way. To complete your move, instead of pressing a button down, you slide your finger across the surface of the circular disc on the top of your clock. This is said to be better for people whose fingers are arthritic or who are recovering from a hand injury. Some also say that it's quicker to stroke a dial than press a button. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's no big deal.

The second thing you notice is that this is the most difficult of all chess clocks to programme. This is not just because the manual is long and complicated – it really is a design issue with the clock. Fortunately, help is at hand. The American chess player Mark Kaprielian has produced the very helpful Chronos Clock Tips and there are also instructions on YouTube.

Maybe the reason is that there's only one button for programming (why?), but approximately 70 pre-sets and 12 user-programmable options. The timing modes include a tournament mode with a repeating final session.

Having said all that, one can state with confidence that this clock is suitable for use in the Civil Service Chess League. That's not because the manual says so. Nigel Fleming, of Revenue & Customs Chess Club, has got one of these clocks and has used it in League matches. So he must know how to programme it.

There are several other Chronos models. The Chronos II is also available with standard buttons. Then there's the FX, the GX and the Blitz. All of them seem to have 12 user-programmable options, but not so many pre-sets. And all of them are nearly as expensive as the Chronos II which is featured here.

Conclusion

1. The best digital chess clock for use in the Civil Service Chess League is the Saitek Competition Pro. Not only is it fully compatible with the League, it is the most user-friendly option for clubs that play in more than one league, and it is a lot cheaper than comparable models.

2. The BHB clock is also recommended if you play in two or more leagues with different time controls and if you can afford the extra cost.

3. If you only play in the Civil Service Chess League, the DGT 2010 is also fully compatible.

4. If you have a degree in Applied Digital Clock Programmology, the Chronos II will impress team-mates and opponents alike.

Good luck! This page will be updated as more information comes in.

CSCL The London Civil Service, Post Office & Municipal Chess League