If you don’t know players who like time pressure in classical games and would call it exciting, then you haven’t been around much. There are plenty of players who thrive on time pressure. No matter how much time you give them they will find a way to use all but a small fraction of it to put themselves in time pressure. The late GM Walter Browne was a good example, but he is far from the only example I could give. It seems like for these players the game doesn’t really start until they’re down to a minute or two for fifteen or twenty moves.
and having a long increment doesn’t prevent these situations. However, the point of having a time control isn’t to make time management part of the game but to prevent a game from lasting forever.
Having a time control automatically makes time management part of the game.
I don’t see how this contradicts Micah’s point. It’s not the objective but it is a result.
Back to the original issue that a inc 60 would lead to the never ending game. We have a new event in our area, a 40/90 inc 30 sd 15/30. Rounds are scheduled for 11,2 and 5.
I don’t know what is thinking behind this.
There is no “clock fairy” that doles out extra time. If you want longer increment (given a specified target length of session), you have to cut back the base time, forcing more errors in tough middle games. (Yes, Micah, it will). It will be better for some types of players/positions, and worse for others (which is true for all time controls).
The deal-killer for two-round-a-day schedules with a long increment is the strong possibility that you will at some point need to adjourn a game. Anyone who has had to deal with that (as a TD or a player) knows that you should do anything you can to avoid that (such as, for instance, sticking to well-tested time controls). If you want a game to NOT be decided by the skill of the players, try adjourning one. Aside from the fact that now chess engines and internet research will come into play, but you may also have a player needing to take a suboptimal outcome (possibly even resigning a favorable position) because he/she simply can’t arrange to finish the game.
With 40/90 inc/30 – or even G/90 inc/30 – the games will never finish in 3 hours. Tack on that second control and it’s even worse.
By the way, what is that second control supposed to be? SD/30 or 15/30? Can’t have it both ways. And what is the increment for the final control?
Bill Smythe
I guessed 40/90+30, SD/15+30
Which still projects to a 4 1/2 hour playing session.
The only events I see in Mr. Bell’s area with this time control have rounds (both Saturday and Sunday) at 11 and 3:30. It’s closer than I would use, but more than he suggested. Is it possible he has the round times wrong? (I also note he needs to bring his rating up over 300 points to be eligible, so perhaps I’m mistaken.)
Alex Relyea