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BGonline.org Forums
How I wish I had more time to rant in general
Posted By: Henrik Bukkjaer In Response To: How I wish I had more time to rant in general (Stick)
Date: Sunday, 5 December 2010, at 4:04 p.m.
>> I would not recommend mandatory clock use for a weekly event. During a weekly event the director almost definitely knows all the players involved, he knows who the slow players are, and the matches are short. People don't come with their A game in hand generally either...don't try to sell me that someone from your Bar Point Club would play the finals of a weekly event just as tough as they would if they found themselves in the French Open finals.
Now there's something to rant about. Why the ef shouldn't you be using clocks because the TD "almost definitely" knows all the players involved?
Then they'll play at a reasonable pace? (Ohh the TD knows me, I better have to speed up) The TD would just hand out warnings based on his perception of a players "normal" speed, even though he didn't monitor the game in question? (take your own description of MCG's pace, how would you apply that knowledge to a game without clocks that you haven't seen?).
Now, I'm all with you on your clock views. I have personally tried my best to get clocks into backgammon (when played at a certain level, agreeing with your view on beginner's flight) in the DBgF (which is reflected in the current rules). I just don't understand, why you would use the clocks exclusively at the final stages of the biggest tournaments? The more you use the clock, the lesser a problem it is. Players get used to it, and they gain knowledge of their own playing speed.
In the DBgF we generally use clocks like this: Champs: Preference (but often mandatory in final stages). Advanced/intermediate: Preference (if one player insist). Beginners: Option (if both players agree).
As for all the minor or weekly tours, it's the TD who decide (must be stated in the invitation) between mandatory, preference or option. TDs can do whatever they like and think that the players want, and players can attend the kind of tours they prefer. Simple as that. And BTW our baffle-box rules are exactly the same, even though we have yet to see mandatory use in any tournament but the TD have the same options.
We've used clocks in our Team League for years now. That's 4 person teams playing 22 17-point matches in a season. The top-two divisions has had clock preference for many years now. The last 2-3 years that preference has expanded so it's now all divisions except for the lowest.
Now maybe I just don't know the level of play and experience in your "local" weekly tournaments, but for our DBgF Team League (which is also "weekly"), I would never consider going back to non-clock preference. And I'm sure that the vast majority of these matches are played with people's "A-game", even in the lower divisions.
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Clocks should be in backgammon, because it's a mind-sport. When two players face each other they should be given an equal playing field. The clock simply ensures, that no player "take" a considerable and unfair advantage, by using more time than his opponent. When using the clock, each player is allocated an amount of time which is considered reasonable, and they can do with it however they want.
Also the clock ensures that a tournament schedule will not suffer from extraordinary slow play.
The good thing is, that no fast players will loose anything playing with clocks. If you say "I'm fast, I don't need to play with the clock", you should be saying "I'm fast, playing with the clock is fine". There are even more advantages when playing with the clock, such as only using one pair of dice (no shaking while thinking, no lifting until opponent has accepted your move, etc.), and there's a very clear cut "end of turn".
So - more clocks please!
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