Will chess clocks be replaced by apps

[David Gostelow]

With tablets down to £80 or so new, after down loading a chess clock to my smart phone today , I was thinking that maybe tablets will get down to say £40 at some point and second had even cheaper and these will possibly replace chess clocks. They are easier to program , but not quite so good on the display side particularly in a tournament where arbiter are looking down a row of clocks ?

Whats your opinion

Maybe there will be a time where we even move to using a large tablet to play the actual game ??

Maybe the arbiters , will be monitoring all games off a screen, with even on line checkers looking for games consisting of computer moves ?

Any other technical innovations you can anticipate

[Roger de Coverly]

Maybe there will be a time where we even move to using a large tablet to play the actual game ??

A typical board is something like 18 inches to 24 inches square. I think that's the size you would need. I don't think playing on a single 2d tablet would be particularly appealing, but perhaps if each player had a screen it might work.

There's certainly a case for using a phone or tablet as a digital timing device. It's already been used for "friendly" five minute games. You could also use a phone or a tablet for recording games. The major problem with adoption of such technology is the difficulty of being able to satisfy everyone that the device is only being used to record moves rather than suggest them.

[Brian Towers]

With tablets down to £80 or so new, after down loading a chess clock to my smart phone today , I was thinking that maybe tablets will get down to say £40 at some point and second had even cheaper and these will possibly replace chess clocks. They are easier to program , but not quite so good on the display side particularly in a tournament where arbiter are looking down a row of clocks ?

Whats your opinion

Clocks are currently overpriced although it is also very much a question of supply and demand. Make chess as popular as football and clocks will come down to something more like £10.

Even with prices as they are your idea is a complete non-starter. Clocks are much more robust and practical. Neither FIDE nor any other chess organization would authorize tablets with appropriate software for use as chess clocks unless the tablets were physically designed to have the essential clock-like features of visibility from afar and physical buttons for players (and arbiters) to press without having to hunt-and-peck.

[Clive Blackburn]

Clocks are much more robust and practical. Neither FIDE nor any other chess organization would authorize tablets with appropriate software for use as chess clocks unless the tablets were physically designed to have the essential clock-like features of visibility from afar and physical buttons for players (and arbiters) to press without having to hunt-and-peck.

Yes, this is the biggest problem. When there is a time scramble, each player needs a big button that they can hit easily without even looking. They also need a clear display of' the time remaining for each player, which can be taken in at a glance.

Clocks are currently overpriced although it is also very much a question of supply and demand. Make chess as popular as football and clocks will come down to something more like £10.

Prices will inevitably come down, as club players become more used to the digital clocks and clubs replace their antiquated analogue clocks, which are expensive to get repaired.

[David Gostelow]

It sounds like some on here have not seen these apps. The display even on a phone is as clear as an electronic clock and its perfectly obvious whose clock is ticking and the area to hit is as large as that on a clock

While authorities and user acceptance takes a long time with all technology I can see them being adopted at some point.

Some of the stuff I put down was more trying to think the direction it may go rather than current reality . Playing the game on a tablet would for instance only really be practical if there were other requirement for a large square screen bringing the price down to something acceptable

I can see the USA being the test ground where you have to supply your own clock. Could be a way of proving your smart phone is not being used to cheat by using it as the timing device. Horrible phrase , but I was just trying to think out of the box

[Roger de Coverly]

While authorities and user acceptance takes a long time with all technology I can see them being adopted at some point.

It could be an easy way for a league to implement increment based timings, but I really don't see it happening. What is taking place already is that phones or tablets are used as digital timers for social chess. They have already been in use in the evening at the 4NCL for example.

[Clive Blackburn]

It sounds like some on here have not seen these apps. The display even on a phone is as clear as an electronic clock and its perfectly obvious whose clock is ticking and the area to hit is as large as that on a clock

While authorities and user acceptance takes a long time with all technology I can see them being adopted at some point.

Some of the stuff I put down was more trying to think the direction it may go rather than current reality . Playing the game on a tablet would for instance only really be practical if there were other requirement for a large square screen bringing the price down to something acceptable

I can see the USA being the test ground where you have to supply your own clock. Could be a way of proving your smart phone is not being used to cheat by using it as the timing device. Horrible phrase , but I was just trying to think out of the box

I have to admit that I have not seen a smart phone used as a chess clock but I have to say that the idea is not very app-ealing.

I do use a tablet a great deal and I know that every time I touched the screen, I would then be checking to see that my clock had actually stopped running. With a physical clock, you know that the button went down and so there is no need to check.

As for electronic chess boards, I do play a lot online and so I'm used to them but I know that I play much better over-the-board and enjoy the games a lot more.

[MartinCarpenter]

They'd spend half their time on the floor, having been deposited there when someone bashed them

[Ian Thompson]

I was thinking that maybe tablets will get down to say £40 at some point and second had even cheaper and these will possibly replace chess clocks. They are easier to program , but not quite so good on the display side particularly in a tournament where arbiter are looking down a row of clocks ?

I doubt that anything other than a purpose-built device is going to satisfy one of FIDE's requirements for clocks:

• (d) From at least a distance of 10 metres a player must have a clearly visible indication [of] which clock is running.

Most tablets would currently fail this requirement as well.

• The clock should have no shine which would make the flag difficult to see.

[MJMcCready]

Given the recent rule changes to ban mobile phones and such devices, its hard to believe fide would allow the use of tablets as a substitute for chess clocks...well not in the near future anyway.