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BGonline.org Forums
My clock proposal for ABT events for 2009 and beyond
Posted By: neilkaz
Date: Saturday, 25 October 2008, at 7:01 p.m.
Intro and background:
Many of the more vocal players here are very much in favor of making clocks mandatory for all championship level matches. We all understand the many reasons for doing this and that we strongly feel that it makes for a considerably more pleasant event and playing experience so I need not elaborate further here.
Issues currently agaaist clocks mandatory:
1) Fear and unfamiliarity with clocks and the mechanics of playing with them.
2) Lack of clocks. Most players still don't have a digital clock for Bronstein use and many directors only have a few clocks.
3) Director reluctance. Some directors fear that clock mandatory will drive some players from the game. Many directors lack adequate clocks for an entire 64 player championship field. They also don't want to purchase and then have to look after 30+ clocks. When one considers that many directors don't make a dime on an event due to costs, they can not be faulted for not wanting to pay for and worry about nearly 3 dozen clocks.
ABT Clock proposal for 2009 and beyond.
Intro: This proposal will use the 2009 ABT season as a transitional season to get all championship players used to clocks without major fears. Starting in 2010 all ABT matches are to be clock mandatory.
Proposal for the 2009 year to get all championship players used to clocks:
1) Starting in Jan 2009, all ABT championship level events are to become clock insistable. This means that either player can insist on using a clock and his opponent has to comply. A player needs to bring his own clock to be able to insist upon using it (unless the director agrees otherwise due to having many spare clocks available). Directors should hold a few clocks in reserve so that they and their staff can clock any slower matches and clock potential drawsheet bottlenecks to keep the tourney flowing well.
2) For the year 2009 only, the Bronstein TC is to be relaxed from 2/12 to 2 min/game 15 sec delay time. Most likely it will be changed back to 2/12 or to 1.5 (round the half up)/15 for 2010 and beyond.
3) For the year 2009 ONLY, the penalty for having your time run out will be to award your opponent 2 penalty points. If a player's time runs out, both players will get 1 minute of time added to their clocks. Additional occurances of time running out (flag dropping) will be treated in the same manner until one player has won the match, either by penalty points being added to his score or by winning the game and having enough points for victory. In 2010, a player who times out (flags) will LOSE THE MATCH, just like with today's rules.
Reasoning:
2009 is to be the transitional year to clocks mandatory which will be enforced for 2010 and beyond. This is for the good of our game which if it is to grow, needs to become more professional and more pleasant with fewer instances of very late night play or early start times caused by slow players. The TC (time control) is relaxed for 2009 only, to give those forced to play under a clock and with little clock experience some time to get adjusted to them. By making 2009 clock insistable, most players will buy a clock (30-40 bucks) anyhow to get some experience with them since they will often be forced to use them anyhow.
The penalty for timing out is reduced to 2 pts for just one year, to make it seem less harsh for those unfamiliar with clocks to time out. In reality the penalty for timing out is still quite harsh and often will cost the match anyhow. There's no more of the dreaded clock gamesmanship available with my proposal for 2/15/2pts than with the current 2/12/match anyhow since when your opponent is nearly running out of time you may wish to complicate anyhow. Note again that with 15 sec delay time, one can cock the dice once or twice and still move without using more than 15 sec. If there is some possible gamesmanship available with 2/15/2pts vs 2/12/match, it is only going to be possible for 1 year and players can certainly have a few minutes left for the last few games anyhow unless they play like snails with 15 sec delay time. I am not opposed to having flagging cost you the entire match in 2009, but quite a few players I have spoken to fear the fatality of losing the entire match.
Once again, it seems likely that if 2009 is clock insistable and 2010 becomes clock mandatory, most players will have acquired their own clock by 2010.
2010 and beyond:
Starting in 2010 all championship level events at ABT events are to be clock mandatory. That means that a clock is to be used no matter what unless one is not available (will be adressed later). This also means that the Master's and Doubles are to be clocked (doubles at 2.5/18/match). The time control and penalty will be changed back to 2/12/match unless experience indicates that 1.5/15/match is better as I suspect it may be.
In the event that neither player has a clock available for their match (2010 and beyond) then the director will loan them one and charge both players $5 for the privilege. This will result in directors quickly paying off the few extra clocks most should purchase and if players realize that they may get fined several times during a tourney for lacking a clock, they'll soon buy one.
If there still aren't enough clocks to go around (if it happens, likely round 1 only) then the director decided who uses his clocks, and the clockless matches are still fined $5.
Summary:
2009 is to be the transitional year to the future of 2010 and beyond where clocks become mandatory for all championship level events. As clocks usage becomes the norm, I'd hope to see it spread to the 2nd tier (Intermediate/Advanced whatever it is called) level.
In 2009 either player can insist upon using a clock provided he has one. This will mean that many players will quickly be exposed to using clocks and will buy one.
The TC is made even more comfortable just for 2009 and the flagging penalty is reduced just for 2009 to make it less harsh for those championship level players who are not yet very familiar with clock play.
By 2010 most players will own a clock (a small cost compared to what we spend to play BG anyhow) and the TC can be reduced to something reasonable like we use now, and flagging will mean that you lose the match.
Conclusion: My proposal to use 2009 as a transitional year will smooth the transition to having all championship level matches clocked by 2010.
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