I was wondering if people could help me settle a debate I got in over the weekend. I’m a new TD and have hosted only 2 small events so far. I was recently told that Rule 26: Variations and Exceptions, allowed for the choice of using no clocks and thus no real time delay at a rated Tournament. But my position is that Rule 26 probably does not allow this because the website requires a time delay input in order to verify the event.
Thoughts? Thanks.
If you have no increment or delay, use d0. For example, G/30;d0.
A delay time of zero (such as G/90;d0 instead of a more normal G/90;d5) is allowed. Delay time is something that is supposed to be in any of your advertising because that is something that would affect whether or not people would play. Even at major tournaments it is possible to start a game without a clock if there is not one available but a TD should have at least one clock available for games that start running long.
I would not recommend running a tournament with no specified time so you don’t have to worry about somebody who is willing to do the sitzfleisch of the 1800s that resulted in chess clocks being used in all serious games.
Thanks for the replies 
. I meant to say no time “control”, and no clocks. And you are right, foregoing the clocks could result in the LONG games lol
You need to pick a time control, if only to determine what ratings system(s) the game will be rated under.
It’s helpful for the TD to have a clock available to drop it on a game where one or both players are not moving very fast. Even a cheap analog clock is better than nothing.
Thanks for that info. I didn’t realize you could play without a clock. Thanks!
Saying you can start without a clock is a little more specific. You need a time control for the tournament to be rated, so you need some type of clock to put on clock-less games that would otherwise exceed the time control. As an example, if the time control is G/90;d5 (90 minutes per player - or 180 for both together - and five seconds delay for each player’s move) then 160 minutes into the round would be a good time to put on a G/10;d5 clock.
Note that if you put a clock on a game you split the elapsed time in half, then deduct it from the starting time for each player and do NOT add any time for the delay they were not using because they didn’t have a clock (16M). This will leave less total time than the total time on games that had a clock using delay starting from move one so don’t just check the times on nearby clocks. That gives an incentive for people to bring clocks. For that matter, a lot of the games that did not have a clock until that point are also likely to be games that finished before any clock needed to be added.
Another reason to have a clock available is if you need to apply a time penalty (maybe a cell phone went off and you penalize that) then you can put a clock on a clock-less game and apply the penalty.
That makes perfect sense, thanks jwiewel! Now I can answer this question fully at club
Is there a specific clock you guys recommend for a club on a budget?
But if you don’t add the delay, doesn’t that mean you would put on a G/10;d0 clock?
Bill Smythe
You don’t add an assumed usage of delay for elapsed moves. If the players have played 30 moves and each have potentially used 150 seconds of delay that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve actually used that much additional time. You know how much time has elapsed since the start of the round (well, you should know) and what the time control is, so split that elapsed time in half, apply it to each player and don’t do anything about any potential additional time that might have been used for delay. If you do add the delay for each elapsed move then you’ve actually treated the initial moves as if they had been under increment and have given the players a bonus for not having a clock.
If it is an increment time control then you do add the increment for each elapsed move.
OK, now I get it. Do set the 10-minute clock for a 5-second delay going forward, but don’t try to compensate the players for any delay time they might have had if they had been using a clock from the start.
Should be a good incentive for players to furnish clocks in the future.
Bill Smythe
Get a clock that has both increment capability and delay capability. The DGT North American is a decent choice. Some Saitek models support delay, but not increment. The GameTime (if you can still find one) supports both, if it is a reasonably recent model.
Bill Smythe
Thanks Bill. I will look into those. Need to buy 3 or 4 clocks for club.
If you are planning on only doing 1 time control [i.e. game in x number of minutes], then you can get a cheap clock via Amazon or one of the chess sellers [often also on Amazon]. The LEAP clock for $19-20 will do 1 time control [not 2] with either delay or increment. As always you can simply do a search on Google or some other search engine site.
Larry S. Cohen
Another good clock that I’ve been using a lot lately is the Wholesale Chess advanced one. It is fully functional and similar to the DGT NA. It’s also a little cheaper. I wouldn’t waste my time with the basic clocks that are $20 or less. These often don’t have delay or increment or can’t do multiple time controls. You might not need it right away, but some day you’ll be wishing you had it.
and multiple time controls
The DGT NA is the most overrated clock on the market. For delay time controls, it doesn’t show the delay countdown. Instead, it just has the word “delay” flash at you during the delay countdown. This can be a big issue when you are low on time.
If you are on a budget, the Omcor GT960 is the best clock to get, although it’s not currently widely available in the US. The clocks that are currently widely available in the US I recommend for those on a budget are the ZMart Fun (Also known as the ZMF II), Leap PQ9912/Wholesale Chess Advanced (these are essentially the same clock but sold under different names), or the Leap KK9908.
No.
It’s not that the MSA input requires a value or the rules require a delay (one may, in the delegates’ infinite wisdom, use d0 if and only if specified in advance). It’s that competitive chess requires a chess clock. One may rate a game where one is not available, but the players may not object to placement of a clock on the game if one becomes available midgame, with elapsed time to be equally divided.
It heartens me that you said no to seemingly sincerely asserted nonsense. It is a skill that will serve you well.
This is correct if and only if d0 has been specified in advance publicity.
A failure to specify an increment or delay in advance publicity results in the use of a delay imposed by rule, the amount of which varies as a function of base time control. One must not spring the abhorrence that is d0 on players without explicit advance warning. Publicity indicating G/20 is incorrect; the remedy for the incorrectness is the application of G/20;d3, not G/20;d0.
Personally, I like the DGT North American. Has most settings, and is fairly indestructible.
Rob Jones