Re: Digital Chess Timer £24.95 plus p&p
Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 1:58 pm
A few months ago Gareth very kindly lent me one of these clocks to review. Unfortunately due to time constraints on my part and the winding down of the club season, I wasn't able to find an appropriate time to test it.
Downend Chess Club in Bristol run a regular quickplay competition over the course of the summer, and so I passed along the clock to one of their members to test and review during this. Below is the review written by Jerry Humphries, Downend club member and captain of their 4ncl team.
English Chess Company
Digital Chess Timer – from £25
This is smaller than other chess clocks and at first sight seems unpretentious yet it turns out to be a sturdy and easy to use item that is handy to store in a cupboard or take to and from matches. With a minimum of moving parts it seems destined to last well and has a well-designed box and an easily cleanable surface. The use of just one AA battery is also a convenience and cost saver that we have waited a long time for.
Setting the clock is very easy – just use the + and – keys to select a mode number, or go to Mode 99 and press the centre button. To program Mode 99 hold the centre button down and set each digit as with any other clock. However unlike other clocks, when you have set the left hand side the same timing will come up on the right hand side automatically which makes it a bit easier. The clock will remember the setting if you switch it off and on again.
If you edit one of the pre-programmed modes it will do a similar thing and store the edited setting in Mode 99.
You can add two minutes during play by pausing the clock and holding the centre button down then going through a similar process. In this case it does not copy the setting to the other clock and does not remember the new setting after it has been switched off.
I did find the pre-programmed settings arbitrary and limiting. We use two time limits – 80 mins + 10 sec per move for League chess and 10 mins + 5 sec per move for evening tournaments. Neither of these is in the list of 37 settings so we end up using none of the given settings and having to keep programming mode 99 for two different time limits. Our club’s Saitek clocks have three user modes and this should be a standard on all chess clocks.
The clock would also be more versatile if it had a Scrabble mode, which requires a penalty time counter once the player has overrun the allotted time of 25 minutes.
Overall this seems a very good clock and given the low price I would say it beats the competition hands down for events that are played to a single time limit.
Downend Chess Club in Bristol run a regular quickplay competition over the course of the summer, and so I passed along the clock to one of their members to test and review during this. Below is the review written by Jerry Humphries, Downend club member and captain of their 4ncl team.
English Chess Company
Digital Chess Timer – from £25
This is smaller than other chess clocks and at first sight seems unpretentious yet it turns out to be a sturdy and easy to use item that is handy to store in a cupboard or take to and from matches. With a minimum of moving parts it seems destined to last well and has a well-designed box and an easily cleanable surface. The use of just one AA battery is also a convenience and cost saver that we have waited a long time for.
Setting the clock is very easy – just use the + and – keys to select a mode number, or go to Mode 99 and press the centre button. To program Mode 99 hold the centre button down and set each digit as with any other clock. However unlike other clocks, when you have set the left hand side the same timing will come up on the right hand side automatically which makes it a bit easier. The clock will remember the setting if you switch it off and on again.
If you edit one of the pre-programmed modes it will do a similar thing and store the edited setting in Mode 99.
You can add two minutes during play by pausing the clock and holding the centre button down then going through a similar process. In this case it does not copy the setting to the other clock and does not remember the new setting after it has been switched off.
I did find the pre-programmed settings arbitrary and limiting. We use two time limits – 80 mins + 10 sec per move for League chess and 10 mins + 5 sec per move for evening tournaments. Neither of these is in the list of 37 settings so we end up using none of the given settings and having to keep programming mode 99 for two different time limits. Our club’s Saitek clocks have three user modes and this should be a standard on all chess clocks.
The clock would also be more versatile if it had a Scrabble mode, which requires a penalty time counter once the player has overrun the allotted time of 25 minutes.
Overall this seems a very good clock and given the low price I would say it beats the competition hands down for events that are played to a single time limit.