5 sec delay; 1 sec used; 4 secs added to time; Chaos ensues!

Running Chess Tournaments
1

Fellow TDs,

Per uschess.org/tds/clockrules.php, "Some models of digital clocks add the time delay bonus at the end, after the player has completed his move. These clocks are also legal… ".

Three summers ago, I was at a tournament where on the board next to me, black made an insufficient losing chances claim. Neither player had a clock with time delay, but one was provided by another player. The TD set the clocks the reflect the time remaining for both players, then the game continued. Several moves later, white stopped both clocks and told the TD that the clock was adding the time remaining from the delay, to blacks total time left. The TD then asked the owner of the clock to set it so that the time not used during the delay, was not added to blacks time. Black did not protest to this, but now I wonder if he could have. If in fact “These clocks are also legal”, could black have made a case here? (By the way, black lost on time).

2

A clock can have multiple types of delay or increment available, not all of which may legal depending on the type of tournament.

It sounds like initially the clock was incorrectly set for the “Fischer delay” (increment) which adds the unused delay/increment seconds to the remaining time. There have been other threads about the advisability of using increment instead of, or in addtion to, delay. I would not fault the manufacturer for making that option available. That would be akin to faulting the type of clock if somebody erroneously set it for multiple time controls in an action tournament.

The clock was later changed to a correct delay setting, thus correcting a clock set for the wrong time control.

One of the two main types of delay are “Bronstein” delay, which immediately reduces the time from the clock and then adds back time after the move is made (up to a maximum of either the time used or five seconds, whichever is less). It changes when the delay is counted, but does not actually add time. This type of delay was the focus of the wording you cited.

The difference of the two delays is that if the five seconds delay is implemented immediately then a player with 10 seconds left can spend up to 14 seconds (the delay 5 seconds and then 9 seconds counted off of the clock) to make a move and still have 1 second remaining, while a clock with Bronstein delay showing 10 seconds available only gives a player 9 seconds to make a move before flagging (and if 9 seconds is used then the clock will show 6 seconds after the move is completed and the 5 delay seconds are added back).

3

It could have been set to Bronstein. Bronstein will add time after the clock press, and it is legal. There is nothing wrong with Bronstein, it just adds the time (2 seconds blitz, 3 seconds quick, 5 seconds classical) after the clock press.

Now, if I am in time trouble, would not want to have Bronstein. As the time delay is added after the move not before.

4

Obviously the TD set the clock for an increment (“Fischer”, “bonus”, “cumulative addback”) instead of a delay (“Bronstein”, “Adagio”, “non-cumulative addback”). The latter is standard in the USA, but the former is used in much of the rest of the world, and in some stronger tournaments here. One should not use increment in a tournament which specifies (or defaults to) delay.

The better digital clocks nowadays support both increment and delay. With increment, 5 seconds (or whatever the increment is) is added each time a move is played. With delay, 5 seconds or the time actually used, WHICHEVER IS LESS, is added, so the total time cannot increase with each move.

Bronstein (non-cumulative addback) is mathematically equivalent to a true delay, except for (in effect) a one-time 5-second difference in the total time control. For this reason, the Chronos, when in Bronstein (“Adagio”) mode, adds 5 seconds to both clocks, on a one-time basis, at the start of the game. (Yes, the Chronos has BOTH true delay and Bronstein, as well as increment.)

Because of the confusion, some organizers have specified that a clock set for a true delay is preferable to one set for Bronstein, although of course the latter would still be preferable to a clock with neither.

Bill Smythe

5

If the clock is at 0:30 (m:ss), one second used (0:29), 4 seconds added (0:33). If it was set at increament, why set the increment to 4 seconds than 5 seconds?

6

Yes, but if it was in Bronstein, and the player had used only, say, 2 seconds on his last move, then the clock would have added only 2 seconds (2:37) rather than 5 (2:40).

Simple – the TD knew he wanted 5 seconds, so he set it that way. What he didn’t realize, was that he had selected increment mode instead of delay mode.

So much for your theories.

Bill Smythe

7

In Bronstein mode the clock will only go back to 2:40 if it had been running for at least five seconds prior to making the move.

For examples:

  1. The clock is at 2:40 and the player uses 0-5 seconds to make the move. Those seconds are initially ticked off and then after the move is done the clock returns to 2:40. This is similar to standard delay where the seconds aren’t even ticked off for the first five seconds and the clock simply remains at 2:40 throughout the move. So if the clock was initially sitting at 2:40 and a player takes 3 seconds in standard delay then it stays at 2:40, while in Bronstein it immediately ticks down from 2:40 to 2:37 and then at the completion of the move only 3 seconds are restored to take it back to 2:40.

  2. The clock is greater than 2:40 and the player takes more than five seconds to make a move, letting the clock get down to 2:35 before returning to 2:40. This is similar to standard delay which waited the five seconds before counting down and the move stopped the clock at 2:40. So if the clock was at 2:45 and the player took 10 seconds to make a move, standard would see the clock sit at 2:45 for five seconds and then tick off the next five seconds dropping it to 2:40 while Bronstein would tick off the 10 seconds to 2:35 and then restore 5 seconds to 2:40.

Players that do not know how Bronstein works often think it is actually adding time when it is simply restoring the delay time.

8

Even if it was set with the Bronstein mode, the Bronstein mode is legal but a less preferred time delay mode. If the Bronstein mode is used for insufficient losing chances (rule 14H2a), it has to be used when the opponent on the move is under two minutes for quick and classical, or … under one minutes for blitz. If rule 14H2a is used, the clock for the
claimant will be under one minute for quick and classical, or … under thirty seconds for blitz.

The failing for the Bronstein mode, is when the opponent is under five seconds on the clock. Pointing to an example, a master at my tournaments have made insufficient losing chances claim three time with only one second left on the clock. Two times for a rated game, one time for a un-rated skittles blitz game. If I use the more common time delay, and since I cannot give the master less than a second on the clock. Under rule 14H2a, the master will always have six seconds every single move unless the flag falls. If I use the Bronstein mode, the Bronstein mode will go back to the start of the time on the clock. In the case of the master, the master will always have one second.

The Bronstein mode starts to show its failings closer it gets to a flag fall. Give you an example: time delay set at G/0:05 (t/d 5) will be 5_0:05, 4_0:05, 3_0:05, 2_0:05, 1_0:05, 0_0:05, 0_0:04, 0_0:03, 0_0:02, 0_0:01, 0_0:00. That give the player ten seconds before a flag fall. Now with Bronstein, G/0:05 Bronstein will be 0:05, 0:04, 0:03, 0:02, 0:01
(opponent must press the clock) clock returns to G/0:05. Now for the master that stops his clock at one second. Example: time delay set at G/0:01 will be 5_0:01, 4_0:01, 3_0:01, 2_0:01, 1_0:01, 0_0:01, 0_0:00. Example: G/0:01 Bronstein will be 0:01 (must move) 0:01 (must move).

Now, what would you want, time delay or Bronstein , both are legal.

9

That is what a Bronstein mode does Bill. We have no clue from the poster if the last move only used less than five seconds or more than five seconds. If the clock was set at 2:40 (m:ss) and the player used six seconds, the clock will go back to 2:39 (m:ss).

Bill:

Say the clock is at 1:30:45 (h:mm:ss), and the player use 1:45 (m:ss). If it was set with Bronstein mode, the clock will show 1:29:05 (h:mm:ss). If it was set with increment mode with five seconds, the clock would show as 1:29:05. It would be hard for the director to understand looking at the clock, if the mode is set at Bronstein mode or increment mode. In fact the director could not prove one mode was Bronstein or increment.

The only way to understand if it is set at increment mode with five seconds, is to have the move made less than five seconds. If the clock is at 1:30:45 (h:mm:ss) and the move was made with 2 seconds. Bronstein will go back to 1:30:45 (h:mm:ss) as increment will go back to 1:30:48. As the increment has given the player an extra three seconds.