Canadian Open that starts this Saturday has the following time control:
40 moves in 90 minutes, followed by SD/30 minutes, + 30 seconds/move from move 1.
I would like to solicit suggestions on what mode to use on my Chronos clock. Somehow, it wasn’t clear to me from the manual. The search on the 'net didn’t help either.
Thanks, I appreciate the help.
P.S. Suggestions to play in a quick schedule and then take byes will not work: there is only one schedule and last round bye is not allowed.
Is this a Time Delay or Time Addition control?
The way I read your description it is a Time Addition control, 30 seconds added to the time, incrementally, for each move. If a player takes less than 30 seconds for his move, the seconds remaining from the 30 seconds are added to the existing time left. Is this the way it is?
Probably something like:
Mode Pr - C1
initial display = 40 - 2:00 40 - 2:00
Change the 2:00 to 1:30 this give 90 minutes instead of two hours.
Change 0:05 to 0:30 for 30 sec inc for 1st time control.
Change the 1:00:00 on both sides to 0:30:00
Change the 0:05 to 0:30 for inc for 2nd time control
On older models of the Chronos, it would be mode CH-P5 for one time control with increment or CH-P6 for two time controls.
– Hal Terrie
It’s not my description, it’s organizer’s description. It’s clear to me from the description that it’s increment, not delay.
Thanks. I have a newer model that has those additional “Pr” modes.
Thanks! Would Pr-C1A work too? What are the pros and cons between these two modes?
It should be a lot of fun playing in the same tournament with all those class prizes for the lower-rated players. Maybe they can explain how to set the clock, too.
Sure. I never played in this tournament before, but am really looking forward to a nice vacation.
One thing I like is that the median rating is about 1800, rather than what I would think to be in (high?) 1600’s in a corresponding US event. Canadians must be smarter than us. I believe I will hold the honor of being the lowest-rated US player in the event.
I am sure they can, but I am pretty handy with it myself too. What I asked here is what’s the best mode to use.
Michael Langer
Are the ratings comparable? Is this event FIDE rated?
Alex Relyea
It’s an equivalent of US Open, except for Canada. Ratings are Canadian. I remember CCA used to add points to Canadian ratings, same as for FIDE ratings, but the current police is to equate them to USCF ratings 1-to-1. The tournament is FIDE rated as well.
90min/40moves +30 seconds per move, then SD/30+30 seems like a really leisurely time control.
Maxxed out, we’re talking a maximum of 110min for the first 40 moves, then practically unlimted time for the other moves.
So lets just say a game in the 2nd time control:
60 moves in 1 hour is easily obtainable.
So if game went 100 moves, that means theoretically the game could last 170minutes per player. or 340min/game at 100moves in the game.
So that could easily make the game more than 5 and a half hours.
100 move games are not common, but in a large tournament, certainly a high chance in a given round that a random game could last 100 moves.
40/110 isn’t that slow, especially for something like a national open. We have lots of serious tournaments at 40/120 (US Open).
We have lots of tournaments that can take 170 minutes or more for 100 moves, for that matter. In fact, couldn’t the games in the US Open take 180 minutes per player for just 41 moves?
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A tournament announcement that includes this info about the “Recommended Chronos setting” is better than an announcement that lacks the info (such as on the web page where space is no issue).
The question is often asked near the start of round 1, often of the TD who finds this irritating. So why not preemptively answer it one time in the announcement?
It would be better service than not providing, and perhaps would exceed the expectations of your chess playing customers, a good thing.
(I get that there are several electronic clock brands, and that Chronos is only one.)
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Chronos seems to be the only one that requires tournament directors to provide detailed instructions on how to set it.
Threads like this (along with observing the regular gatherings at every tournament before a round where some Chronos users get together and try to figure out how to set the things) just make me feel that much better about my Excalibur which I bought for half price (or less) of what a Chronos goes for…and when you buy the Excalibur you don’t even have the opportunity to make a mistake and buy the one with a touch pad. (Are plungers really that irritating!?!)
Inevitably once a tournament, my opponent is late because he is in the Chronos clock setting session and I set up for the game. Brandishing his newly programmed monstrosity, he will breathlessly make it just in time to set it up beside the board in front of my clock saying proudly…“Let’s use mine…I have a Chronos!” 
OK…I admit it…I have issues…
In that case, and I’m sure Mike Nolan will correct me if I’m wrong, it effects USCF ratings for players with them. Doesn’t USCF go through the list of FIDE rated tournaments that aren’t also USCF rated and manually adjust the ratings of USCF members?
Alex Relyea
I just grabbed one of my Chronos clocks and manuals. This one is 2002 vintage.
Anyway I found the CH-P6 mode to be the one I would use in your situation. This is called Chess Progressive Mode VI in the manual.
It has 2 time controls with the increment add on as well.
I would go to that and change the numbers to be the 1:30:00 first time control and :30 increment, along with the 30:00:00 time as the second time control and of course the :30 increment.
I would then save it to the memory slot #4.
In this memory slot, you can get to this time control again by simply short pressing the center red button 4 times, from the off position of the clock.
I do have a newer model in the car, and will check that later. If the time control on the newer one has a different title, I’ll post it here, later.
Now that I made it to Edmonton, I found out that organizers will be providing the clocks.