Is USCF time delay more standard than Bronstein? So if White shows up with a Chronos with regular time delay, and black shows up with a one of these generic kid friendly digitals with Bronstein can white insist on his clock?
In theory the two time settings work the same, but somehow I feel better having the time pausing at the start instead adding back at the end. I’m always afraid I’m not going push clock in time to get my 5 seconds.
I ask this because this happend to me at small tournament that I playing in and acting a quasi-director. Manager of club runs the pairings on Swiss Sys I answer technical questions about possible pairing changes, and any other rulings, I also submit the report for rating as the tournament director.
Especially when I’m playing in a tournament where I’m directing or helping a freshly minted club director, I make sure I use time delay. I put too many club aand local directors through hell trying to deal with my insufficiant losing chances, especially before putting the time delay on became an option.
My opponent with black wanted to use his digital clock with the bronstein mode. I offered the chronos, but he decided he liked his clock better. He insisted that since he had black that he should get clock choice. Sometimes it’s hard to argue with a 9 year old kid. We used his clock, but I wasn’t happy with clock face angle especially late in the game when I noticed that I did not have 4 minutes, and 7 seconds but 47 seconds. I kind of self distructed in those last 47 seconds. I’m not sure the Chronos would have helped except that I can see the clock face much clearer.
The other amusing thing about playing tournament savvy kids they want resignations spelled out. Often with adults I may say something about “I’ve had enough, good game” and shake hands. The adult opponent understands my resignation. The kid opponent wants to see a tipped over king, and wants to hear the magic words, “I resign.” Then they’ll accept the handshake and good game comment.
Bronstein is just as standard as delay, so black can insist that a Bronstein clock is used instead of a delay clock.
In Bronstein time mode you will always have at least 6 seconds at the beginning of the move. So as long as you make your move in 5 seconds each subsequent move will have 5 seconds available.
TD Tip: When adding a clock with Bronstein delay on an ILC ruling, leave at least 6 seconds on each clock. The proper procedure is to take away half of the claimant’s time and then add 5 seconds. This will ensure that the player has at least 5 seconds for each move.
I am not sure that 9 year olds are the most difficult. I had a game a once where my opponent , who arrived 5 minutes before the round started, insisted that I remove my set and clock. Since he had the black pieces I agreed to remove my Chronos in favor of his Excalibur, my ebony set in favor of his club set, but not my green and bluff board in favor of his bright blue and white board. My argument was that the bright blue was not in accordance with 41B as it was not “pleasing to the eye”. The TD made a King Solomon like decision and has us use a black and white board.
But as Paul Harvey would say, there is a “rest of the story”. A few months later I was a floor director at a rather large tournament. A player came to the TD table and insisted that his opponent’s bright blue board was too distracting. Upon my arriving at the board to assess the situation, I was surprize and amused to see my opponent from the previous dispute sitting there with his bright blue board. I wager that most readers can guess how I ruled with regard to the blue board. I definetly didn’t follow in King Solomon’s sandles.
Nevertheless, at some CCA tournaments, I have seen a sign posted saying that a clock with “true” delay is preferable to one with Bronstein (though a Bronstein clock would, of course, be preferable to one with no delay at all). I guess this would be considered a Variation, of a type not serious enough to require advance notice in pre-tournament publicity, but important enough to require posting at the tournament.
True, and this points out that delay and Bronstein are not QUITE equivalent. Game/60 with a 5-second delay is mathematically equivalent to game/60:05 with a 5-second Bronstein. By this I mean that, at each moment in the game, the total time before flag-fall (for each player) is the same either way.
Of course, if 5 extra seconds are NOT added to the Bronstein clock at the outset of the game, no TD in his right mind would allow a player to escape a time-forfeit claim based on the missing 5 seconds.
I could point out that the Chronos (standard models, I don’t know about the blitz models) has BOTH delay and Bronstein (the latter is called Adagio, AD-1, AD-2, etc). The Chronos, in its Bronstein modes, adds 5 seconds automatically, on a one-time basis, as soon as the clock is started at the beginning of the game. I doubt whether Saitek or DGT do this, although I have heard conflicting reports.
When only a minute or two remain, the 5-second difference between Bronstein and “true” delay becomes significant, so I agree with the above tip.
The DGT XL does start with the additional 5 seconds, Saitek I does not, and I haven’t dug out my Saitek II but as I recall it doesn’t automatically add the time delay. Since the DGT XL does add the 5 seconds, it is mathematically equivalent.
We used his clock, but I wasn’t happy with clock face angle especially late in the game when I noticed that I did not have 4 minutes, and 7 seconds but 47 seconds. I kind of self distructed in those last 47 seconds. I’m not sure the Chronos would have helped except that I can see the clock face much clearer.