Arbiter's quandary -- 40/90 SD/30; inc/30

Running Chess Tournaments
1

You have been asked to direct a tournament set up by an organizer friend of yours. The organizer has specified a time control of 40/90, then SD/30, with an increment of 30 seconds per move to be in effect from move 1.

(This is hypothetical. It hasn’t happened to me yet. And I hope it never does.)

The organizer has told you that he is furnishing equipment – boards, pieces and clocks – for all games. The clock he is furnishing is the DGT North American.

Should the clocks be set to add 30 minutes after move 40 has been reached, or to add 30 minutes when the initial 90-minute control runs out?

Unlike the Rules Puzzle thread, there are no right or wrong answers – just opinions, backed up (I hope) by thoughtful analysis and full consideration of both the advantages and disadvantages of each possible answer.

Miscellaneous facts about the DGT North American clock:

  • The clock can be set either way – to add 30 minutes after move 40, or to add 30 minutes only when the initial 90 minutes runs out.
  • If the number of moves (40) is specified, the clock will add 30 minutes after move 40.
  • If the number of moves is not specified (i.e. if it is set to 00), the clock will add 30 minutes when the initial 90 minutes runs out.
  • This clock does not automatically display the move count while the game is in progress. The move count may be seen during the game by pressing the plus (+) button briefly without pausing the clock.
  • If the clock is set with 40 moves specified, and if one player’s 90-minute initial time runs out before the move counter reaches 40, a flag will be displayed on the side of the player whose time ran out, and the time on both clock faces will freeze.
  • If the clock is set without the number of moves specified (i.e. if it is set to 00), and one player’s 90-minute initial time runs out, a flag will be displayed only on the side of the player whose time ran out, and both clocks will continue to run, with 30 minutes added. If the opponent’s time also runs out later, no flag will be displayed on that side, and the clock will continue to run. (That way everybody will know whose time expired first.)
  • If the game continues past move 40, and eventually one player’s secondary 30 minutes runs out, a flag will be displayed on the side of the player whose time ran out, and the time on both clock faces will freeze. This secondary behavior is true regardless of which way the clock was set to begin with.

If I have erred in any of the above descriptions of the DGT clock behavior, somebody please let me know.

Have at it!

Bill Smythe

2

Is our hypothetical tournament FIDE rated?

Alex Relyea

3

Good question. Perhaps each poster should be encouraged to provide three answers to the original question – one for FIDE-rated, one for not FIDE-rated, and one for FIDE-rated only in the top section or two. And in the third case, would you set the clocks the same way for the FIDE-rated sections as for the other sections?

Bill Smythe

4

The reality is that you could set the clocks either way and be fine. Both methods will work. The “preferred” setting, though, is without the move counter for non-FIDE and with the move counter for FIDE.

In actual practice, I don’t recall ever seeing someone use a DGT NA with the move counter on. Those using Chronos clocks, on the other hand, almost always have the move counter set so that it halts at end.

The biggest problem you’ll have with halt-at-end (i.e. with move counter on) is that the move counter may not match the actual number of moves played. This is less of a problem if the move count is low (more likely case) than it is if it is too high. If too high, the clock will stop running prematurely. On top of that the added time for increment is also off, but that’s less of an issue. Some time may have elapsed without the clock running before the player’s notice. It isn’t possible to account for this and may have the unintended effect of extending the game.

Under USCF rules the clock is supposed to keep running. It is entirely up to the player’s responsibility to call the flag. Since TDs aren’t allowed to intervene, it is much better to let the clock keep ticking even if the player has overstepped the first time control.

With FIDE rules since the TD can also call the flag, we can watch for fallen flags and act accordingly regardless of the mode used. With the halt it becomes more obvious if the player ran out of time. If the move counter is off, it can be adjusted appropriately back to the correct spot. Seeing a stopped clock we can quickly step in and see what the situation is (either correctly flagged or incorrect count) without losing much actual time. Provided the TDs are properly paying attention anyway.

Interestingly enough one of the most common questions I get with this (and similar clocks) is why didn’t I get my extra 30 minutes when I reached move 40? Personally I think if we kept the move counter on all the time, there would be fewer issues with incorrect move count than the number of complaints about not getting the extra 30 minutes.

5

You haven’t seen it because on the DGT NA there is no way to have the move count displayed while the game is being played. That’s the main reason I postulated the use of this particular clock – I wanted to see how organizers and arbiters are dealing with this design deficiency.

Even though the move count is never visible, on the DGT NA it is always there, behind the scenes – even in single-control modes like G/60, with either increment or delay or neither. The move count can be viewed during the game by briefly pressing the plus (+) key without pausing the clock. But how many players would dare actually try this in the heat of a tournament game? I never have. And I strongly suspect the majority of players are not even aware of this feature.

They may have the move counter set to be visible, but they may or may not have it set to halt at end. On most Chronos models in most modes, halt-at-end is a user option that can be turned either on or off.

With the DGT NA, by contrast, halt-at-end is always on in any increment mode. And so is halt-at-time-control (i.e. when a player oversteps the initial control, e.g. 40/90), provided the clock is set to trigger the 2nd control at move 40 rather than at minute 90.

My point is that the DGT NA presents problems in two-control events with increment, yet it is the most popular clock (at least in Illinois) in events where the organizer furnishes clocks. I am interested to see how arbiters deal with these problems. I strongly suspect that almost all organizers of 40/90 SD/30 inc/30 set their clocks to trigger the 2nd control at move 40, without fully appreciating all the consequences.

Hmm, your experience here might tend to refute my theory that most organizers set their clocks to add time at move 40. There is, however, another possible reason you may be getting this question a lot – the move count may be inaccurate, especially when it is invisible as it is on the DGT NA.

How do you set your DGT NAs when you are directing a G/90 SD/30 inc/30 event where the organizer has furnished the clocks?

Bill Smythe

6

My preference is to add the 30 minutes automatically after move 40 is complete, in either rule set.

Move counters are accurate and useful in 100 percent of the cases in which the players operate the clock properly or correct a mistake promptly. Rules and best practices should presume and reward proper technique, not improper technique.

7

We provide DGT NAs in all our tournaments in Maryland. We us 40/90;SD/40 +30" as the standard time control. We never set the move counter. I’m running a 250 player event right now with 120 DGT NAs and 5 DGT 3000s.

My opinion is that clocks are not supposed to count moves. That’s the job of the score sheet.
Mike Regan

8

The old GamerTimer had a flaw that if the clock was hit quickly by both sides it may not registers moves being made. Such was a problem with any time scramble. I have never checked to see if this was fixed with the GamerTimer II clock. The original does not have increment, whereas the II does.

Larry S. Cohen

9

By “we never set the move counter” I assume you mean that you specify 00 as the number of moves for the first control, so that the clock will add time only when the first control runs out.

How has this worked out with your players? Do you get a lot of “Hey, my clock didn’t add time at move 40” questions?

By the way, I fervently hope that the semi-colon between “40/90” and “SD/40 +30” doesn’t mean that the increment is in effect only for the final control. That would open up an entirely different can of worms, especially with the clock being set to add the secondary time only when the primary time runs out.

Bill Smythe

10

IMHO a better design for clocks would be to add a button to advance to the next time control, which could be pressed when both players agree that the time control has been met or when the arbiter makes that determination.

11

Except that, what happens when one of the players presses the button, without first determining whether the opponent agrees?

Bill Smythe

12

Bill,
Although before the tournamentI explain how the clocks work with the second time control, I do get players asking where their 30 minutes is after they reach 40 moves. I would prefer this rather than the clock adding the 30 minutes after only 39 moves because of an earlier illegal move.
Of course, the increment is on from move 1. There is no way on a DGT NA to have the increment be different on different time controls.
Mike

13

In that case, a mystical dragon appears, scorches the player, and then devours him with vigor and alacrity.

That’s SOME button!

14

I should have been more specific. I know that the DGT is always counting moves even though not shown. What I meant was is that I haven’t seen a DGT NA set to “halt-at-end” or auto add the 30 minutes when 40 moves have been reached. It’s always set so that the extra time is applied when the first time control hits zero. By contrast users of chronos clocks tend to have the clock auto-add the extra time. That’s what I meant.

I have heard that when in increment mode the DGT will halt-at-end. Even though I know they exist at least at the professional level, so far I’ve never directed or even been to a tournament that had multiple time controls with increment. Those have always been delay settings and probably only CCA tournaments for that matter.

In a single time control with increment, it may halt-at-end but I haven’t specifically tested it. So far it’s never been an issue for me. It’s either been blitz 3+2 where players will notice the flag or 90+30 where players hardly ever flag.

15

OK, thanks for the clarification. This would be mode 16 (two time controls with increment). If 40 moves is specified, it will add time after move 40. If 00 is set instead, time will be added only when the primary time expires.

I was just thinking that some TDs, when setting the DGT NA for two controls with increment, might instinctively specify 40 without realizing that the move count will then trigger the second control, even though they might have preferred that time be added after 90 minutes rather than after 40 moves. If 90 minutes were their preference, they should set the number of moves to 00 instead of 40.

Hmm. I could have sworn I’d seen you at the TD table at a couple of those events. My mistake. But there have been only a few of those in Illinois over the years.

It does halt at end, yes.

Apparently it has been an issue with some players and/or TDs, because U.S. Chess specifically prefers that a clock not halt at time control and not halt at end. FIDE prefers just the opposite. Personally, I prefer the clock not to halt at (the end of the first) time control, but to halt at end (of the game), and IMHO, FIDE and U.S.Chess should both adopt this stance as the best compromise.

I started this thread to find out how TDs in the USA are handling 40/90 SD/30 inc/30 with the DGT NA. It seems to me that, since the DGT never actually displays the move number, and halts at time control, the option to add time after 90 minutes (i.e. to set the number of moves to 00) should probably be the preferred option.

Apparently you and I are on the same page.

On Chronos clocks, with their highly visible move counters, having the time added after move 40 is not so bad, with or without halt-at-end.

Bill Smythe

16

I agree (I think).

There is a way to have the increment only in the final control. Try mode 10 or mode 12. But as you say, there is no way to have different non-zero increments in different controls.

Bill Smythe