I’m continuing my series of articles and videos for the absolute chess beginner. This post will be about chess equipment in general, focusing on chess clocks. I’ll have a little advice about how to use the chess clock and some advice on what kind of clock you should buy.
A standard item of equipment that every chess player should have is a chess clock (sometimes called a “chess timer” or “game timer.”) A chess clock is great for playing with your friends, especially if you want to play speed chess (a/k/a “blitz”). Speed chess games are usually played at 5 minutes per side for the entire game. It’s a lot of fun, and good practice.
Blitz chess can be addictive, and it can also be bad for your chess if you don’t mix in slow chess (an hour or longer per side per game).
Do I Need a clock?
If you’re going to play in tournaments, you do need a clock. You can get by without one, but you will find yourself begging a clock off other players when your opponent shows up without a clock. Get your own clock; you’ll have a lot of fun with it and you’ll be prepared for tournaments.
By the way, a chess clock can be used for other games, and I’ve even read of chess clocks being used in a court of law to time the lawyers!
How does a chess clock work?
A chess clock simply has two timers, one for each side. After you have moved your piece, you push the button (or lever) on your side of the clock. This stops your clock and starts your opponent’s clock. After he has made his move, he pushes the button or lever on his side of the clock (“punches his clock”), which stops his clock and starts yours.
The clock will have an indicator for when the time has expired for one of the players. On the old clocks, this was a flag that is raised by the minute hand as it approaches the top of the hour, and falls (theoretically) at 12:00:01. When the flag falls, you’re out of time and you lose. (Hopefully it’s your opponent’s flag that has fallen.)
The proper way to use your clock during a game is to make your move, then push the button (or lever) to stop your clock with the same hand that you used to move your piece. If your flag falls before your opponent’s, and you haven’t checkmated him, you lose.
Should I get a digital chess clock?
First, the mechanical chess clocks work perfectly well, and they’re often less expensive (though you can get some very expensive mechanical chess clocks). The mechanical clock that I show in my video cost me $24.00 in 1974, has seen lots of abuse (and a lot of chess), and it still works fine.
One advantage that a digital clock has is that it can usually be programmed to accommodate time increments or time delays. (These are where a certain number of seconds are added to each player’s time for every move or the clock doesn’t begin running for a certain number of seconds after the clock is punched.) Very few tournaments use time delays; for practical purposes, you usually won’t need this function.
Here is a link to a very good practical chess clock for not too much money (similar to the clock that has lasted me more than 30 years), and here’s a link to a good digital chess clock.
If you want to get all the equipment you need for tournaments or club play, you can get a package of chess board, set, and clock (a good analog clock), with a bag to carry them all. It’s a great idea!