Talk:Time control

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The contents of the Byoyomi page were merged into Time control on October 30, 2014. For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected page, please see its history; for the discussion at that location, see its talk page.

For a non-chess player, the intro secion is very confusing. If a player is fast and they make 40 moves in 30 minutes, do they get to continue using the initial 90 minutes of the first phase, or do they automatically move to the second 30-minute phase? What does "an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one" mean? If I make 50 moves in the first phase, have I added 25 minutes (50 moves X 30 seconds = 1500 seconds) to the first phase? What is the point of adding 30-second increments per move? Why not simply specify time maximums? Does each player get the 90/30 -- so if the maximum time allotted is used by both players, the first phase would take 180 minutes? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1702:39A0:A6B0:D93:5336:E71E:AF97 (talk) 14:22, 29 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Would it be possible to put a picture of an Ing Clock on this page? This would help augment the byo yomi passage and allows the introduction of the Ing Overtime Rules as used in Go Tournaments.--ZincBelief 12:19, 21 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This article is rather unstructured at the moment. What would be the best way to mould it into a format that can best illustrate and explain the types of time control used over many types of games? Section on speed Blitz, Normal, Especially Long is simple to write. For time control methodology we probably need to seperate into types

• Sudden Death: Obvious
• Overtime Forms: Canadian Byoyomi and Japanese Byoyomi, in Go ; Fide Time Limits in Chess.
• Compensation Forms: Fischer, Bronstein time
• Penalty Forms: Ing, Scrabble

--ZincBelief 13:44, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well how about this....

A time control is imposed on the tournament play of almost all two-player board games so that each round of the match can finish in a timely way and the tournament can proceed. Time controls are typically enforced by means of a game clock. Time pressure, time trouble or zeitnot is the situation of having very little time on one's clock to complete one's remaining moves.

The amount of time given to each player to complete their moves will vary from game to game. However most games tend to change the classification of tournaments according to the length of time given to the players^[1]. Shorter time limits, which do not afford due consideration to moves, are afforded a lesser degree of importance. Indeed shorter limits are normally given special names to distinguish them.

Lightning is the quickest limit, then Blitz. Chess has an Active category after this. As an example, for go anything under 20 minutes can be considered blitz, while Chess generally considers something below 10 minutes to be in this category.

The exact approach to using a game clock to regulate games varies considerably.

This is the simplest methodology. Once a player's main time expires he loses the game.

Here the game time is seperated into two basic domains. The main time, and the overtime. To switch between the two requires some trigger event. For example in Chess reaching a fixed number of moves will trigger the gain of a fixed amount of bonus time. In go two common forms are

• Canadian Byo-yomi:

After using all of his/her main time, a player must make a certain number of moves within a certain period of time — for example, twenty moves within five minutes. Typically, players stop the clock, and the player in overtime sets his/her clock for the desired interval, counts out the required number of stones and sets the remaining stones out of reach, so as not to become confused. (Some game clocks, notably the Ing clock, do not permit this option.) If twenty moves are made in time, the timer is reset to five minutes again. This is written as <main time> + <number of moves to be completed in each byo-yomi time period> in <byo-yomi time period>. ^[2] If the time period expires without the required number of stones having been played, then the player has lost on time. In Progressive Byo-yomi the required rate of play alters as we progress through additional overtime periods. ^[3]

• Standard Byoyomi:

After the main time is depleted, a player has a certain number of time periods (typically around thirty seconds). After each move, the number of time periods that the player took (possibly zero) is subtracted. For example, if a player has three thirty-second time periods and takes thirty or more (but less than sixty) seconds to make a move, he loses one time period. With 60-89 seconds, he loses two time periods, and so on. If, however, he takes less than thirty seconds, the timer simply resets without subtracting any periods. This is written as <maintime> + <number of byo-yomi time periods> of <byo-yomi time period>. Using up the last period means that the player has lost on time.

These methodologies typically requiree the use a special clock. There are two main forms which provide compensation for both time pressure and time lost in physically making a move.

• Bronstein delay - when it becomes a player's turn to move, the clock waits for the delay period before starting to subtract from the player's remaining time. For example, if the delay is five seconds, the clock waits for five seconds before counting down. The time is not accumulated. If the player moves within the delay period, no time is subtracted from his remaining time.

• Fischer delay - when it becomes a player's turn to move, the delay is added to the player's remaining time. For example, if the delay is five seconds and the player has ten minutes remaining on his clock, when his clock is activated, he now has ten minutes and five seconds remaining. Time can be accumulated, so if the player moves within the delay period, his remaining time actually increases.

Such methods exact a points penalty, or fine, on the player who breaches their time limit. One example occurs in Go, where the Ing Rules enforce fines on breaches of main time and overtime periods ^[4]. In tournament Scrabble the time control is standardized to 25 minutes per side with a 10-point penalty for each minute that is used in excess^{[citation needed]}. The number of extra minutes is rounded up, so that overstepping time control by 61 seconds carries a 20-point penalty.

• US Patent No. 4,884,255 for Fischer's clock

--ZincBelief 14:50, 24 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The article as is only covers board-game tournament use of the phrase, but the phrase also refers to rally races where check points along each leg are 'Time Controls' where the driver's time card is checked and marked, and penalties are imposed for arriving too late or too early. --Barberio 19:31, 21 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Good point, some sort of disambiguation would be needed if Rallying couldn't be fitted into the article then.--ZincBelief 15:30, 5 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is written as <maintime> + <number of byo-yomi time periods> of <byo-yomi time period>.

I have seen it differently on common use, including the KGS and tournament papers.

--Lazer erazer 15:55, 12 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Since the additional time you get under Fischer time carries over I can't see how byoyomi can simulate Fischer. Taemyr 13:32, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The article doesn't list Fischer time as a subset of Byoyomi as far as I can see? It's listed in Overtime under compensation (delay) methods - a seperate section from byoyomi. Have I missed something? --ZincBelief 13:44, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, you have missed something. From Time_control#Overtime_formats; Byoyomi and Canadian Byoyomi time controls are actually supersets of Absolute and Fischer time controls. Taemyr 13:48, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yuck, who wrote that in... I don't follow that sentence at all. Canadian Byoyomi is a subset of Japanese Byoyomi. Comparisons with others are misleading. I will edit this. --ZincBelief 15:09, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Does anyone else feel this is slightly out of place. Detailing the FIDE laws of chess with regards to Time Trouble doesn't exactly fit for me into the Subject of Time Controls. Time Control is surely refering to how time is allocated for each player. It should not refer to how one will behave during certain (time) regimes.--ZincBelief (talk) 12:42, 2 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

• I was the one who added the section here, and I won't object to the material being moved to another article, or split out to a separate article if that is appropriate. However, I do object to removing the material altogether, because time trouble is a very major consequence of time controls, a factor which features in lots of games among strong players, and a factor which is well-covered in some books (e.g. Chess for Tigers). The fact that rules were made to govern that testifies to that time trouble is a significant part of the game. The Oxford Companion to Chess, the closest thing we have to a specialized chess encyclopedia, has a separate entry on "time trouble" (so the topic is "encyclopedic"). At the time, I didn't feel that I could gather sufficient material for a stand-alone article, and adding it to this article seemed like the best fit. Sjakkalle (Check!) 13:22, 2 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • It is certainly a topic you can cover. I would imagine you can fit it into some chess rules page somewhere. I will have a look around to find a more suitable resting place. —Preceding unsigned comment added by ZincBelief (talk)
    • How about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_chess --ZincBelief (talk) 13:54, 2 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    • Rules of chess is an OK target article for putting the rules, but the line about time trouble causing blunders belongs in this article. If you want to go ahead with that, I'm OK with it. Sjakkalle (Check!) 06:31, 5 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Is this name actually used anywhere? I've always known this time control as Japanese byo-yomi.128.214.51.113 (talk) 12:43, 13 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

In my opinion, there is no such thing as "standard byo-yomi" as a timing method. However, some Go websites may consider byo-yomi their "standard" time method, so this is likely the meaning, but only in the context of such websites. Also, "Japanese" refers to the scoring method (as opposed to Chinese or Korean scoring), not the timing method. David Spector (talk) 15:39, 24 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

"When it becomes a player's turn to move, the clock waits for the delay period before starting to subtract from the player's remaining time. For example, if the delay is five seconds, the clock waits for five seconds before counting down. The time is not accumulated. If the player moves within the delay period, no time is subtracted from his remaining time."

I believe this is delay (or "simple delay"), not Bronstein. Bronstein is identical to delay, except it immediately starts counting down. This is what the Game clock article says, and also see here: http://monroi.com/chess-blog/chess-experts/chris-bird-blog/119-chris-bird-blog/899-chess-clocks-understanding-time.html 198.189.14.2 (talk) 02:03, 8 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You are correct; I came here to make this point. Seeing as this discussion topic is over 7 months old with no disagreement, I'm going to make the change. Mike Segal (talk) 21:59, 28 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Based on that it looks like you are right. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 03:41, 8 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The USCF rulebook says that a standard delay waits the period before counting down. Bronstein starts counding down immediately and adds the time back at the end. I think Fischer delay adds the time at the beginning and starts counting down immediately. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 03:53, 8 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Fischer delay is described as the increment being added to player's clock at the beginning of his / her turn. In Go it's most often added after the player has made his / her move. See for example http://senseis.xmp.net/?FischerTiming Which one is the original style as described by Bobby Fischer, or are they both? The section about Fischer delay doesn't list any references so it's difficult to say, and if both systems are used they should be mentioned. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.112.14.230 (talk) 15:07, 13 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have found very few websites which actually define the proper syntax to use when annotating a chess Time Control (presumably other games could have their own). I propose that someone with the personal knowledge of this topic sort through the meager sites which talk on this subject and add a section for 'notation' to the time controls page.

Example: SD/X - rest of game played in [X] G/X - game played in [X] M/X - move played in [X]

Questions I could not find answers for: How is the Increment notated. How is the Delay notated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jamesford42 (talk • contribs) 21:13, 13 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

In the US Chess Federation, G/30;d5 means game in 30 minutes, delay of 5 seconds per move. Increment probably uses "i" instead of "d". Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 21:26, 13 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps a section could be introduced that deals with the question of players acting in bad faith with regards to the time control and what recourse the opponent has. e.g. I once played a G90/30 game with a against a teenager who was making his moves fairly quickly until he blundered and dropped an important piece, leading to what was pretty much a hopeless position. He then proceeded to make a move every 15 minutes or so, taking long breaks to walk around and whatever else. Basically he consumed all of his time for no good reason other than to spite me. I didn't think I had any kind of recourse for this so I said nothing but I wonder if there is a rule against this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.235.152.245 (talk) 17:59, 7 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The wording of the official FIDE time control rule, namely

There is a single time control for all major FIDE events: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

can appear confusing to newcomers, because of what it doesn't explicitly explain, for example the cumulative nature of the time increments and when they begin to apply. A few examples would help. If I am interpreting the rule correctly, it means that in the first phase of the game each player will have 110 minutes to complete the first 40 moves (the initial 90 minutes plus forty 30-second increments). Thereafter, each player will have whatever time they have left on their clock from the first phase, plus 30 minutes, plus an additional 30 seconds per move, beginning with move 41. So if a player fails to make their 40th move within 110 minutes, or their 41st move within 140 minutes and 30 seconds, they will lose. The cumulative nature of the 30 second increments is explained further down in the article, under "Fischer delay", so I have changed the beginning to refer to that. Another source that explains chess time controls fairly well, including the difference between cumulative "increments" and non-cumulative "delays" is [1].CharlesHBennett (talk) 13:07, 17 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The section regarding increment and delay methods is unsourced. Incidentially, it is identical to the one in Chess Clock. Were they added by the same author? Thanks for looking into this. NightlyHelper (talk) 22:01, 7 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

"In some systems, such as certain Go title matches, there is no main time; instead, the time used is rounded up to the nearest whole increment, such as one minute, and the actual counting of time occurs toward the end of one player's time."

Several parts of this explanation make no sense to me. Unfortunately, I haven't found a clear explanation of all the Go timing methods (Simple, Absolute, Fischer, Canadian, Chinese, Japanese) anywhere as yet. But this sentence in particular could use some heavy revision for clarity. Other than rounding move time or total time up to the nearest one minute, I have no idea what it means. David Spector (talk) 15:35, 24 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]