LCCC Speed Tournament Tonight - And Chess Clock Review

The Livingston County Chess Club meets every Monday night between 4pm and 10pm at the Buffalo Wild Wings in the Green Oak Mall in Brighton, MI. 

Stop on by for some friendly chess, good food and 'refreshments'. Everyone of all ages and playing strength are welcome to attend. And free lessons to all beginners!

We will hold the LCCC 2023 Speed Chess Championship tonight at 6pm. 

No entry fee! 

The games will be 5 minutes long!    NO DELAY!    

The 5 second delay as previously posted, was in error.

It will probably be a 4-round tournament, but it could be longer or shorter depending on the number of attendees. Each round will be a 2-game match with your opponent, alternating colors for the games. Two wins or a win and a draw gets you a “win” and one point in the round. A win and loss gets you a “draw” in the round.

It is always a fun time and the tournament starts AND is over in time for more chess either before or after the tournament. So be sure to attend tonight.

Sorry for the late post. Snow storm, power outage, wood splitting for heat, and no internet!

Now to continue the review of chess equipment. Chess Clocks.

First of all, the analog battery or wind-up chess clock is OUT! I recommend never to buy one from now on. I still own a couple, but never use them. One is a classic Jerger wind up clock that I used in my first few tournaments. This clock is 50 years old and is still accurate to seconds per hour. It's an antique that will not be used again by me. I still run it once in a while to make sure it still works. I bought it for $60 when it was the top of the line and was offered $400 for it - ten years ago!

My #1 pick for best value chess clock is:

I have no idea who makes it. But it is a generic chess clock that you can get almost anywhere on line. It runs between $20 to $30 depending on your color preference (many to choose) and button side color preference. No color or some have RED (shown) or bright WHITE highlights at the bottom of the move switch that you can see from a distance. The model shown is a Wood Grain color but the clocks are all plastic. This clock is easy to set and handles delay and increment time options. You can vary the time on each clock for a time handicap, like the more expensive models shown below.

What is does not do is secondary time controls - like some big tournaments have. Such as 40 moves in 120 minutes, then 30 moves in an hour and then 30 minutes sudden death. But for those tournaments, you can set your clock for 3 hours and 30 minutes and use the scoresheet to count the moves and declare a forfeit if it happens. Not a big deal. What I am saying is this chess clock is still fine for almost any tournament condition. And if it isn't, you can get close to it - or use your opponent's fancier clock. This clock is all you really need.

But, if you want to upgrade, you might as well go what I consider the next best value chess clock. The Tap-n-Set model. $50 - $60.This clock uses an app you put on your phone and you can set any time limit some slappy tournament director dreams up. Very easy to use. I am not a fan of the face of the clock, (I think the $20 clock above has the easier to read face), but it is fine of course for tournament usage. It also comes with the option of buttons (shown) or the sensor to change clock sides.

And finally, if you like a slightly bigger clock than #1, with more styles and colors available than #1, then you can go with #3 - the Zmart Chess Clock ($40 - $50). It also has the button options like #2. It is shown with the sensor option. I was under the impression that this clock was hard to set (like a Chronos clock - don't ask about them, and don't buy them! - HARD to set), but I was educated just last week. This clock is easy to set, but not quite as easy as #1. But it does allow secondary time controls if you desire them. And I think has the best clock reading face of the three.

Confession time: I use #1 for all my chess classes and students. I use #2 for tournaments now, just because I thought I would be current with the latest technology (and being a bit of a hypocrite. Didn't need it, as I wrote above. Just thought I would get it anyway). And for club play I don't use any of them! I have a few other models of digital chess clocks that have worked for years (including my old tournament clock) and I use those at the club and for other casual games. 

But because of these clock experiences, I am more than qualified to give you this advice on chess clocks.