I just checked the USCF store for clocks and could not find a special clock I remember seeing just for Blitz which showed seconds left to play and only went as far as 20 minutes or so. Anyone know where this clock might be available?
Also, does anyone have a preferred clock for Blitz or in contrast: have a valued clock which they would not want to be used for Blitz or Quick due to the pounding it takes in those time controls?
I speculate that you may have been referring to old DGT 2000 clock, which is discontinued, as my recollection is that it only started to display seconds when player(s) were down to last 20 minutes. But isn’t this functionality got carried forward with latest incarnations of DGT such as DGT 2010, XL and NA?
With regards to clock banging, with mechanical clocks especially infamous Romanian made Aradora, this practice made sense, since it was possible to force the flag down (in some cases) by banging really hard. In fact, I know of at least one player, call him “Mr. Z.” who in our digital age proudly owns Aradora, brings it to speed events and frequently takes advantage of some titled players (especially foreign) who come to a tournament without a clock.
With digital clocks, banging makes no practical sense, unless someone really tries to annoy the owner of the timer.
My personal preference is either Chronos GX Touch or DGT North American.
I have used a variety of clocks for blitz. Among the digitals, the DGT North American and the Saitek Pro are sturdy clocks with a wide enough base that they cannot be tipped. Also inexpensive enough that I don’t mind the banging they took. The Chronos is just too expensive. I have seen a couple of the ones with black buttons go tilt and expire during a clock banging session. Also the touch models don’t always accept the touch to change. The blue Saiteks are a little dodgy and sometimes freeze. I like the black Game Timer for long time controls, but for blitz they are not so good. The black buttons crack from banging. These clocks, too, can freeze or reset during blitz games.
The mechanical clocks I have used include the BHB, a dark wood Yugoslav Insa, and the Coldfield. All sturdy. The Insa was a beautiful clock to use, with large white face and red flag, and a final minute section that let you see the little flag or axe fall. My favorite though was the Coldfield. Dark face with white clock markings. Same two minute finale section with a flag/axe to see how much time you had. Really study with wide metal rocker arms that I wore the paint off. I won that clock as a prize for first place in the finals of a yearly Grand Prix blitz series. Sadly, because of the digital age, I rarely use it. It is an anachronism for regular chess and I have gotten used to seeing exact seconds on my DGT.
I have seen a couple of the specialized blitz clocks with the 20 minute timer. I thought they were a little pricey for such specialized usage. They looked sturdy enough like the other electric Master Quartz clocks. Those Romanian clocks are an abomination. Those should be struck by lightning and banished from the chess world to the nether regions to be used by the clock bashing flying monkeys for whom they were designed.
Are chess clocks from toys r us any good?
The manufacturer is much more pertinant than the store that sells them.
I don’t see people being able to answer the question well without knowing the brand.
The chess clocks that were sold by Toys R Us go under the name of Pavilion. When you look at the clock closely you find that they are the same as the black Game Timer II clocks. Works the same way. Same number of settings. Only difference is a sticker on the front saying “Pavilion.” I looked for the clocks at Christmas in order to buy a few at $19.95 for our club. Our local store carried them at the end of 2011. This past Christmas they did not have them and a manager could not find them in a web search of their company inventory. Very odd.
Some of the posts on this forum really reminded me of the “good old days” of blitz chess. The Garde clock, made in the former East Germany, is a quality item. I lent an imitation of this clock (the imitation has gray plastic around the clocks instead of aluminum) to a couple of clock bangers and it was destroyed in one game with a broken mainspring. I have seen a few of these floating around so do speed with them at your peril.
I remember when the Master Quartz appeared on the scene and I became a chess “Superman” able to give the most incredible odds where I could not before. It turns out that if you could hit this one fast enough it would not move. The Master Quartz really could take some heavy abuse as well. One player pounded his so hard that the button flew off the opposite side! This “Simon Legree” justified his behavior by saying that the clock was his to treat as he would. And his clock didn’t give up the ghost.
The Chronos? I will only say that you get what you pay for. I consider this clock to be the gold standard for blitz chess. The low center of gravity is one of the biggest features among many. I think the clock is still made in the USA as well. I had a Sutton Colefield years ago and it was certainly a fine clock as well. Compact and reliable. If rated blitz adopts the same delay rules and (God forbid) increments as exists in quick and regular chess there will be no place for the analog clocks I mentioned at all. What a lot of chess drama missed…
I think the OP was referring to a specialized analog clock I had the displeasure of using once or twice many years ago. The “minute” hand went around once every ten minutes (I think) instead of once every hour. Thus, when it appeared to show six minutes remaining (just short of what would be the 11 on a standard dial), it actually had one minute remaining. This arrangement offered a bit more precision than the standard BHB-type clock, but would be no great shakes today.
Bill Smythe
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Actually the time of that clock was 15 minutes. I owned one before digital, delay clocks became available. I could not find a picture of it on the internet. It had a white plastic body and a black face.
I did find this picture though:
This one has 20 minutes as its time.
They weren’t that hard to use and understand.
Then there was the Sutton Coldfield analog clock that had a flag that went up, then went down again slowly to show the last few minutes before finally falling.
With a little practice you could measure time to within 5 seconds or so.
Several of us liked it, others did not.
If you are the owner of a clock I am sure that you can request that your opponent depress the button in a non-theatric manner. That being said, I would suggest buying the Chronos clock. Chronos clocks are quite durable and have been my mainstay for years as far as speed chess is concerned. Today was a happy day! I traded a Chronos clock for a beautiful wooden Jerger clock. It is possible to play speed with the Jerger but this will never happen for as long as I own it. Happy shopping!
The Jerger clock is the same as the BHB, inside.
Bill Smythe