Chess Program Review Archive

For some time now, there has been an ongoing debate on USENET concerning which is the ‘ best' digital chess clock. This review will look at two of the most popular digital clocks on the market: the Chronos and the DGT.

Because of some new rules that have come out of the USCF, digital clocks are becoming more and more popular ( see http://www.uschess.org/tds/clockrules.html and http://www.wizard.net/~matkins/clocks/clocks.htm ). Unfortunately, these new clocks are causing some confusion among tournament directors, because of the delay feature. This confusion is compounded by the fact that some tournament directors (and users) are unsure of how to operate some of the new clocks.

My previous clock was a USCF master quartz, which was extremely reliable and easy to use. So, I found myself unconsciously making comparisons to my ‘ old faithful' clock when looking at these new digital units. Unfortunately, neither of these two clocks is as easy to use as a regular analog clock. But let's see how they stack up...

The DGT

This clock comes in a compact ABS case with rubber feet. It has a low center of gravity, and is difficult to tip over. A large rocker bar is used instead of the usual buttons. This bar provides very good feedback. In other words, you know when you've punched the clock because it makes noise, and you feel a ‘ click'. The rocker switch on the DGT has about the same visibility as the buttons on the USCF master quartz. If you want extra visibility, then get the black clock body, because the buttons will show up better against it.

The clock stresses ease of use, with three buttons on the front panel labeled ‘ ok', ‘ +1' and ‘ start/stop'. The ‘ ok' button is used when you wish to confirm a time setting, while the ‘ +1' button is used to change the time. The ‘ start/stop' button is used to start and stop the clock, since the rocker bar has no ‘ middle' position (i.e. you can't press both ends down at once). The instructions that come with the clock are clear and succinct, and there is a summary of the various timing modes on the bottom of the clock.

I only have one complaint about this clock - I think that the digits are a bit on the small side. My corrected vision is very bad (probably much worse than anyone reading this review), so this is a factor for me. Others with more normal vision will not find it to be problem. In either case, I have measured the digit sizes and put them in the table at the end of this review, so that you can judge for yourself.

While this clock is not as easy to use as an analog model, anyone that can program a VCR can program and use this clock. You will probably not need to refer to the manual once you use the clock a few times.

One more thing - the DGT 2000 can interface to the DGT autosensory board.

The Chronos

This clock is built like a tank. If you are the kind of person that likes to deal out physical beatings over the board, then this is definitely your clock (ha ha, that's a joke).

But seriously, this clock has a large display along with a ton of features. You can have beeps (of user selectable pitch) after every move, or at the end of the time control. You can turn these beeps off if you so desire. There are also LEDs that can be enabled or disabled, that show the side to move. Or course, enabling the LEDs costs battery life. If you are the sort that likes to walk around the tournament hall (like me), then you should probably leave these LEDs on. Otherwise, there is no other visual indication (besides the clock digits) that the clock is running.

When using the clock, you hit one of the three buttons on the top of the unit. The buttons do not stay in the down position (like an analog clock), and your opponent's button will not rise when you press yours. There is little tactile, and audio feedback (unless beeps are enabled) when you press the button. I found myself frequently checking the clock to see if in fact I had pressed the button properly.

There are a very large number of programmable modes for this clock, and a bewildering array of options....

Because it is somewhat large, the clock just sorta kinda fits in some of the chess bags sold by the USCF. Therefore, you might want to buy a carrying bag for the Chronos (an optional accessory).

While this clock has a ton of features and is extremely durable, it is not easy enough to use. In fact, this is my major complaint. Because I go to relatively few tournaments, I have to re-familiarize myself with this clock each time I want to use it! With all due respect, this is nuts. For instance - if you want to turn the clock off, you need to hold the center button down, and press the right button five times. With the DGT, you press the on/off button on the bottom of the clock.

Summary

While I have provided a feature comparison table below, I think I can sum up my findings on these two clocks as follows: If you want an easy to use digital clock, then buy the DGT. If you are the kind of person that is hard on their toys, or likes to have a lot of features in a chess clock, then the Chronos is a better bet. But realize, if you do get the Chronos, that there is a lot more to remember as far as normal usage is concerned.

In the end, both of these clocks are of high quality, and you should get years of trouble free use out of either of them.

In addition to the two sites that I mentioned previously in this review, I would also recommend that you go to www.ChessUSA.com (this site) and www.dgtprojects.com for more information on these two clocks.

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