tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post6546975782840653217..comments2024-01-29T14:44:29.902-05:00Comments on Castling Queen Side: US Amateur Team East - The Results Are In....Pollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-91359589839204668992011-03-23T17:37:05.133-04:002011-03-23T17:37:05.133-04:00Anon: At the moment there isn't anything you c...Anon: At the moment there isn't anything you can do as White if Black wants to use his clock with the move counter on. As long as time delay is on, no brand of clock or setting takes priority.<br /><br />Maybe after this incident maybe someone will propose a rule change to eliminate the use of them.Pollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-77335494211403696802011-03-18T11:40:38.673-04:002011-03-18T11:40:38.673-04:00I hate move counters and have gotten into "fr...I hate move counters and have gotten into "friendly" discussions when I'm White and Black wants to use his clock with a "move counter" (not realzing that it's hardly counting moves, just clock presses!). Of course, I have always lost this argument since there are no USCF requirements on whether you must use it or not. No good has ever come of a "move counter".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-48906630639070237642011-03-05T10:13:06.725-05:002011-03-05T10:13:06.725-05:00I know what you mean about the blue Saitek clock. ...I know what you mean about the blue Saitek clock. I ended out playing with one on Thursday night because I was a little late getting to the board and that's what my opponent was using. The buttons are hard to push. My biggest complaint with the clock is the 5 second delay countdown filling up the time display until it's done. I have found it a little confusing both playing with the clock and observing games as a TD or spectator.Pollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-81511059010376459102011-03-01T23:15:46.519-05:002011-03-01T23:15:46.519-05:00There are problems with the blue Saitek clock as w...There are problems with the blue Saitek clock as well.<br /><br />If you don't press your plunger hard enough to illuminate your opponent's clock yours will keep running!<br /><br />That happened to one of my teammates in round 5 and to an IM in October. In both instances the player time-forfeited.Chess Coronerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06634575182995991578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-38069907734929936972011-02-28T05:29:22.568-05:002011-02-28T05:29:22.568-05:00'He honestly didn't know, but asked aloud,...'He honestly didn't know, but asked aloud, "Did I make it? Did I make it?"'<br /><br />I don't like all of these clock technicalities. Heck, my clock is digital but analog plunger which takes about a second to register, and I've lost quite a few games where I thought I had pressed it before it said 0 seconds.<br /><br />But, I think it was rude of that guy to say that before you made time-control and disturb you, so for that I think it would be right to flag him. If someone is going to call flag they will call flag, he doesn't need to say anything.<br /><br />I try to avoid that situation now unless the position is truly, truly lost and I am playing on merely for the sake of it. All those horribly selfish motives come out like seven deadly sins or something, when it is last second.<br /><br />Selfishness can ruin things. Football, for example is so interrupted these days, for review of every close catch and slow-mo'ing every nook and cranny. I don't think that is really right. Before instant replay, the thing that bothered me most were incorrect penalties, and most of those are unreviewable anyway. Nowadays, people want to state a federal case over the last second of a clock to be the decisive outcome of a game.<br /><br />Well, I avoid those situations more now myself, but it's still a little disturbing to hear about them. Most weird situations involve the clock. People will point to the clock, as if a question, and then not say anything, some people will forget to set the delay or not prefer it. I don't count on any of this stuff anymore, just avoid the drama situation as much as possible, but it still takes away from the game.LinuxGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15764940044950170053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-39854493529793266502011-02-27T23:47:48.036-05:002011-02-27T23:47:48.036-05:00I gave up on the counter in 2004 when my own Chron...I gave up on the counter in 2004 when my own Chronos did me in. My opponent playing White flagged just before making his 40th move while two TDs were watching. He honestly didn't know, but asked aloud, "Did I make it? Did I make it?" When I looked up, the clock showed 1:00:00 for the next time control. Since I was under pressure to make my own 40th move in time, I just made a move. The TDs told me that had I claimed, I would have won by time forfeit. Instead, I resigned on move 42. When the move counter is set, digital clocks pause at 0:00, but add the next time control when the 40th move is made. If the flagging player hits the clock on his 40th move with the counter set, TDs and claiming players have to assert that the 1:00:00 is evidence of flagging while the flagged player could argue that he actually has 1:00:00.01 seconds left. Tricky and confusing for both claiming players and TDs to sort out. Now I just set time and delay with no counter. If a player oversteps at move 40, the clock retains the evidence in that some of the next time control will be used up.Soapstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615415471957675272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-8985964383234103942011-02-27T23:20:49.299-05:002011-02-27T23:20:49.299-05:00Linux: On the first time control keeping score is ...Linux: On the first time control keeping score is required unless in time pressure. The player not in time pressure keeps score because that's the only way he'll be able to make a claim. <br /><br />Sudden death time controls has changed the nature of the game. When I was first playing the time controls were 50/2, 25/1, 25/1 etc. There were adjournments. Games do come down to those last minutes. <br /><br />The player who flagged is an experienced player. He saw the time added and then left the board. It's unfortunate that it came down to this. Maybe in an individual tournament the player would have not claimed. In a team tournament with the match and championship riding on it and your teammates looking on what else are you going to do?Pollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-9210303304106407872011-02-26T20:55:38.462-05:002011-02-26T20:55:38.462-05:00I've disliked move counters since 2004 when I ...I've disliked move counters since 2004 when I failed to make a claim while everyone was watching. When my opponent playing White made his 40th move, his flag was actually down, but the digital clock added the time of the next time control. I didn't see the moment of flagging, only the display after he hit the clock at 40 which showed 1:00:00 or 1:00, so there was no shorthand way for me to see his flag down. Two TDs saw him flag. My opponent actually asked aloud, "Did I make it? Did I make it?" The TDs couldn't say anything unless I made a claim. But I was confused by the display and was under pressure to make my own 40th move as black, so I moved without making the claim. The TDs told me I just needed to speak up and they would have forfeited him. I resigned at move 42. Digital clocks don't show negative times. They just stall at 0 and when the move counter hits 40, they add time. With move counters, a situation could arise that a player who flagged at move 40 but nevertheless hit the clock. The TD has to rule on the clock evidence showing that at move 40, the flagging player has 1:00:00 time instead of 1:00:01 (and probably have to entertain arguments about 1:00:00.01, an invisible hundredth of a second). Very tricky and confusing for both players and TDs. Since 2004, I only set time and delay with no move counter. If the opponent oversteps on move 40, the clock would show that he used up time in the next time control, the telltale sign that I would understand as overstepping and use to make a claim.Soapstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615415471957675272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-86483034311611943132011-02-26T17:06:40.360-05:002011-02-26T17:06:40.360-05:00Polly, thanks for bringing up this interesting top...Polly, thanks for bringing up this interesting topic. I never set the counter since it can get messed up (as we've seen), and have never had an opponent question having it not used. Once or twice an opponent has given me a quizzical look when move forty was reached and the extra hour was not automatically added, but once I explain they've been fine with it. IMHO not using the counter should be the preferred setting.denopachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08683971459382806163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-35611377078638288132011-02-26T16:07:11.123-05:002011-02-26T16:07:11.123-05:00Since you are someone who could influence the rule...Since you are someone who could influence the rules :-), I would like to see something changed.<br /><br />A person can blitz in the last five minutes and not write their moves down (which I suspect is what happened). But, I feel strongly that this should not be allowed during any time-control other than the sudden-death period.<br /><br />So for the first 40 moves, people should have to produce a scoresheet that has 40 moves, IMHO, and not grab the opponents time-sheet after 40 moves has passed and fill in their last 12 moves. I find that practice appalling. But in a sudden-death period, such as the final hour, it makes sense.LinuxGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15764940044950170053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-81661840832137564312011-02-26T15:52:19.417-05:002011-02-26T15:52:19.417-05:00BTW, I don't like move-counters, mine is usual...BTW, I don't like move-counters, mine is usually wrong in these dual time-control tournaments, but I would not have forfeited the other player - it's an obvious misunderstanding. Although my clock is so old that it doesn't "show" the move-count - someone would need to know which button to press, or ask me. <br /><br />I've learned to basically ignore move-counters.LinuxGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15764940044950170053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-19508049625128044382011-02-26T15:49:18.109-05:002011-02-26T15:49:18.109-05:00Technically, everyone knows that the person who on...Technically, everyone knows that the person who only even wrote down 39 moves should be forfeited - it's right there on their own scoresheet!<br /><br />OTH, if the clock belonged to the other player, and it did say 40 moves on it, then I believe common-courtesy would be to allow play to continue, and reset the clock.<br /><br />This is a problem that I see with modern tournament chess, a lot of people are trying to win on the clock, and then say "yay, yay, yippee me!" when some sort of event like this occurs (not everybody).<br /><br />Eventually, the player who loses on time in this "weak" manner will come to realize that the clock is more important than playing good chess, and then they will start to play the clock more and the board less, and those games which could have been wins will start to turn into safety-draws.<br /><br />Plus, it sort of breaks the spirit of the clock-defaulting player, as they realize that all that chess training came down to some clock dispute/misunderstanding. After that happens a few times to a person, there is a certain sort of feeling of specialness that goes away. The chess addict will learn to cope with faded feelings, but that person who may only play a couple tournaments a year could feel majorly jipped and give up tournament chess.<br /><br />It's sort of "funny", this instance, because obviously there is another hour for play if the 40 moves had been made. It's not as if the round is ending and people need to clear out of the venue, it's just one of those "competitive" issues.LinuxGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15764940044950170053noreply@blogger.com