Players Not Notating, or Poorly

[tmagchesspgh]

You can still play blitz or Bughouse using analog clocks. I would rather see them beat up the old BHBs than bang the DGT NAs or our Excalibers. The analogs are pretty sturdy. Some schools who are cost conscious buy the analogs because they don’t understand the importance of delay or increment in tournament play. Their argument is that the kids are using them in after schools programs not tournaments. They need a clock that can last kid use. They can buy four analog clocks for the same price as one Chronos.

[Smythe_Dakota]

@ChessSpawn

… As I recall, our vendor has a note on the page with analogue clocks that they are not usable in certain US Chess events.

@In response

… I checked just now. On the page for “Regulation Plastic Mechanical Chess Clock”, there is this:

Important Note:
This Clock does not have Time Delay and is not recommended for US Chess Federation Rated Play .

The other models of analog clocks have the same warning.

There are, in fact, pages for “Digital Clocks”, “Analog Clocks”, and “Tournament Suitable Clocks”, with not all of the Digital Clocks being on the Tournament Suitable page, because they don’t have delay. …

That’s good to know. I guess I owe our vendor an apology then.

Bill Smythe

[Smith]

@Smythe Dakota

@ChessSpawn

… As I recall, our vendor has a note on the page with analogue clocks that they are not usable in certain US Chess events.

@In response

… I checked just now. On the page for “Regulation Plastic Mechanical Chess Clock”, there is this:

Important Note:
This Clock does not have Time Delay and is not recommended for US Chess Federation Rated Play .

The other models of analog clocks have the same warning.

There are, in fact, pages for “Digital Clocks”, “Analog Clocks”, and “Tournament Suitable Clocks”, with not all of the Digital Clocks being on the Tournament Suitable page, because they don’t have delay. …

That’s good to know. I guess I owe our vendor an apology then.

Bill Smythe

It is unfortunate that the one clock is labeled “Regulation Plastic Mechanical Clock” even if it has a warning at the bottom of the page.

[kevin_bachler]

@bruce_leverett

It struck me, by the way, that the cheapest analogs and digitals are $27.95 or $29.95, while the cheapest Tournament Suitables are $39.95. To put it another way, the delay feature adds an extra one-third to the price of the product. It’s not surprising that some people would make that mental calculation and fall on the wrong side of it. For this reason alone, I would not expect analogs to just go away any time soon.

Bruce

Ah. But it’s all how one looks at it. It’s not that the delay feature adds an extra one-third. It’s that without this minimal required feature, the clock still sells at a price 1/3 less.

[tsawmiller]

@ChessSpawn

@bruce_leverett

@ChessSpawn

@Smythe Dakota

@relyea

… In this case, since we can’t keep our official provider (sort of) from selling clearly non-standard equipment, I’d have to think Mr. Smythe’s (and Mr. Immitt’s) idea is completely useless.

On the contrary. If our quasi-official equipment vendor refuses to screen out non-standard clocks, that’s all the more reason to write specific standards. It might help some potential purchasers, given the lack of guidance from the vendor, to make a better choice. Plus, who knows, it might even help the vendor see the light. At least, it might be possible to arm-twist them into labeling each of their clocks standard or non-standard, as the case may be.

Additionally, clock manufacturers would have some guidance as to how to design their future clocks.

Bill Smythe

As I recall, our vendor has a note on the page with analogue clocks that they are not usable in certain US Chess events.

I checked just now. On the page for “Regulation Plastic Mechanical Chess Clock”, there is this:

Important Note:
This Clock does not have Time Delay and is not recommended for US Chess Federation Rated Play .

The other models of analog clocks have the same warning.

There are, in fact, pages for “Digital Clocks”, “Analog Clocks”, and “Tournament Suitable Clocks”, with not all of the Digital Clocks being on the Tournament Suitable page, because they don’t have delay.

It struck me, by the way, that the cheapest analogs and digitals are $27.95 or $29.95, while the cheapest Tournament Suitables are $39.95. To put it another way, the delay feature adds an extra one-third to the price of the product. It’s not surprising that some people would make that mental calculation and fall on the wrong side of it. For this reason alone, I would not expect analogs to just go away any time soon.

Bruce

Analogue clocks, especially in real wood cases, are simply very cool in a way that digital clocks never will be.

Yeah, I miss the good ol’ days, when you could hear the ticking of dozens of chess clocks…