Chess Clock
Way before your grandparents were even born, people could take as long as they wanted to make a move. That was great for calculating variations, but can you imagine how long a single chess game took? Thankfully we now have chess clocks to speed things up.
Here's what you need to know about the chess clock:
- What Is A Chess Clock?
- Why Do Chess Clocks Matter?
- Analog And Digital Chess Clocks
- Wrapping Up
- Chess Clock Video
What Is A Chess Clock?
A chess clock keeps track of the time each player has left in a game of chess. Here's how it works:
The chess clock has two displays (or faces), one for each player. The players or an arbiter set the clock to the desired time control before the game starts. On ChessKid, you choose the time control you want to play before we match you up with another kid.
To start the game, the player who has the Black pieces pushes a button to start the clock, which triggers a countdown for White. As soon as White makes a move, they hit another button on the clock. That button stops White's countdown and starts Black's. Black then makes a move and hits the same button they hit before. White's countdown begins again, and so on and so forth.
If you're playing on ChessKid, you don't need to worry about hitting your clock. The website stops your countdown and starts your opponent's automatically as soon as you make a move.
If a player's time runs out, then they lose the game. That's why it's very important to be aware of the time you have left on the clock at all times!
Why Do Chess Clocks Matter?
There would be no way to time a chess game without chess clocks. Before chess clocks, games could last for more than 10 hours! Can you imagine watching those games? Or even worse: playing for that long and end up losing?
Analog And Digital Chess Clocks
On ChessKid, we have your clock needs covered. But what if you want to get your own clock to play chess face-to-face with your friends? Then you'll have two options of chess clocks to choose from.
You can get an analog clock, which is probably the version your grandparents used if they played chess back in their day. They had two faces and a red flag for each player. When the red flag fell, time was over, and the player would lose. This is why we use the term "flagging" when a player loses on time.
The analog chess clock. Photo: Wikimedia, CC.
Another more recent type of clock is the digital one. It comes with two digital displays that show the remaining time for each player. One of the advantages of a digital clock is that you can add increments or delays to it. That means that players get time added for every move they make.
The digital chess clock. Photo: Wikimedia, CC.
Wrapping Up
You now know what a chess clock is, how it works, and why they're important. Now head over to our Play page to challenge a kid to a timed chess game!