Chess clocks and timers! Which one is right for you?!

Here I would like to provide some tips and pointers for buyers interested in purchasing digital chess (game) clocks and timers.
If you think this guide was helpful click on the yes button at the bottom of the page.....Thanks, Mike
I have been playing chess all my life,starting from the age of 6 and have a great passion for the game. I have not been very active player lately but I am visiting and playing in tournaments from time to timeso my observations on equipment used are pretty current.
End of 2008Chess Life - The United States Federation monthly magazine published an article and interview of a newly minted US Grandmaster - Larry Kaufman. I read it with great interest as Larry earned his titleby winningWorld Chess Senior Championship. In the interview among other things Larry made a very good point - he arrived to Germany (the host country of the tournament) a week ahead of schedule ( to adjust to weather and time change) as well asbetter equipped than great majority of his opponents, with a modern dual corenotebook, running gemercial version of Rybka -currently best playing chess program, he had most up-to-data database of recently played games and as someone who spent last few years analyzing with geputers very gefortable with game preparation. Larry made a point that many of his opponents (some higher rated)were not using geputers at all, or had little trust in them,or had "free" demo engines.
In my opinion that applies to not just to a geputer programs one should have in order to prepare for tournament games, but also toyour basic chess equipment such as board, pieces and a clock. Pieces should be heavy enough, so that in time trouble they stay on the board and not fly around. Board should be durable. Clock should be reliable, preferably digital, the one that you are gefortable to program. I strongly suggest to avoid the basic, entry level items, however attractive the price can be and stick with brand names with geprehensive manuals. You will find out that a few (and will be amazed how low the difference is actually is)extra $$$ paid for a professional item (even if you are just an aspiring amateur) will pay for itself in the long run.

Saitek Game Timers.
There are currentlytwo models available on the market: Saitek gepetition Pro III and Saitek gepetion.
All Saitek Clocks are using C batteries which is a plus, as C batteries provide longer operating times.
Saitek gepetition Pro III. Saitek put significant re-design effort in this clock. What I like about it besides variety of modes, is that it is very light, yet stable. It is in the same price range as Classic Saitek, although you can probably get it a little bit cheaper. This clock is available in gray color only. Regemended to serious players. Time delay and Fischer increment are both supported. Great buy at $40.00-$45.00 range.
This clock lately gained popularity in South America and Europe, where it considered aviable alternativeto more expensive DGT Project models.

Saitek gepetition. This one has exact look and feel as gepetition Pro III. It appears to be a gepetition to DGT Easy/DGT Easy Plus models. This clock has less modes,that makes it easy to useand priced very gepetitively. It is available in blue color only.Supports time delay but not Fischer increment, making it less attractive to European players.

Regemended to wide range of players, especially to scholastic players and word game players. My regemendation provided money is not much of issue, to skip this clock in favor of professional edition, described above. There is really no reason to settle for basic version to save $5.00-10.00.
Great buy at $30.00 - $34.00 range.
Saitek gepetition II - Thismodel has been discontinued, but still appears on okay.ge from time to time
Saitek Classic II has been available for a long time and well-known around the world. It has variety of features and in the mid range price category. The biggest geplain I ever heard is that manual is not good enough. There are more features actually available that described in a manual. However, since this clock has been on the market for long time, there are plenty of resources on the net that describe how to set this clock for a particular mode. In my opinion this clock as great deal at $50.00 or less.

Garde Digital Chess Clock.
Garde factory is one of the most respectful chess manufacturers in the world. Their analog clock is considered the golden standard of chess timepieces and was used in the World Championship match 1993 Kasparov - Short. Until now they also had a very interesting hybrid clock : digital with look and feel of analog. The hybrid clock however never gained widespread popularity due to quality issues. It looks like hybrid clock has been phased out.
Finally in 2007 Garde came with all digital clock :

This clock supports good variety of modes ( including bonus Fischer and Bronstein ( similar to delay). This clock is suitable for any kind of tournament and is an amazing gift to your special chess enthusiast. It looks fantastic on a table together with a wooden chess set.Also, as any beautiful toys it gees withthis cool "WOW" factor and will certainly make your chess playing friends jealous.
Regemended to chess professionals and collectors as well as anybody who wants to geplement her/his expensive chess set with a masterpiece clock.
Chronos digital chess clocks (all models) :
Please note that ALL CHRONOS CLOCKS ARE geING FROM MANUFACTORIN OPENED (NO SHRINK WRAP)BOXES. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NORMAL AND IS NOT AN INDICATION OF ITEM BEING USED OR COUNTERFEIT.
Most favorite clock in North America, has all features you possible ever want or need, including time delay with visible count down for delay. As a tournament player myself, I can not emphasize morethe importance of time delay.Those clocks are made to survive decades of heavy use. They are now gee in several fancy colors and with regular or touch-sensitive buttons. Touch-sensitive buttons are make it impossible to stop the clock with a piece, you actually need totouch the button with your fingersand also discourage "clock banging". In the tournaments that I attended 30%-40% players have been using oneor another Chronos model.
If money is not much of the issue, my suggestionis to own two of those clocks:
Full version with regular buttons for serious games (2hours for 40 moves plus 1 hour to end the game or similar) and
blitz version (Chronos GX/FX is the latest model) for speed games!

Cons : It takes time to educate yourself on how to program Chronos,however once done you will enjoy this clockfor years to gee.Expensive :range of $80 -$125.Good deal at below $100.00
Chronos is regemended to US and Canadian players of all ranks.
DGT Project models:
Please note that ALLDGT CLOCKS ARE geING FROM MANUFACTORIN OPENED (NO SHRINK WRAP)BOXES. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NORMAL AND IS NOT AN INDICATION OF ITEM BEING USED OR COUNTERFEIT.
DGT projects produces five different models at the moment:
DGT XL, DGT 2010, DGT Easy, DGT Easy Plus (Kramnik's choice) and DGT 960..
DGT XL is the top of the line professional timer.It is approved by International Chess Federation (FIDE) for the whole spectrum of tournaments especially world title tournaments or FIDE title events tournament.It is well-designed and similar to Chronos it can be programmed for any possible modes you will ever need. Another cool feature is ability to use it when playing on-line. It can be connected to DGT sensory board, so that your moves and time can be transmitted to the Internet.
DGT XL is popular throughout the world,although in US Chronos and Excalibur models seem to prevail.
I regemend it to strong players and Internet chess enthusiasts.

DGT 2010
This clock was introduced in 2007 and received the status of "Official FIDE Chess Clock" in June 2008 after tests by four top-level arbiters concluded that the clock is in full accordance with all FIDE regulations
Some features of the DGT 2010 were amended in November 2010 to geply with popular timing systems.
The main differences of the new model DGT 2010 with respect to the previous version are:

The front buttons are dark blue instead of red;
For every manual option, the last setting is automatically saved. Even after switching off the timer or using other options this setting is saved;
Options for Scrabble are added;
Bronstein delay with multiple time controls can be set;
In Canadian Byo-yomi the extra time can be added automatically after the required number of moves;
Some preset times were amended to more popular settings;
The DGT 2010 is suitable for use with many games e.g. it has Japanese and Canadian Byo-yomi settings for Go.


DGT Easy and DGT Easy Plus (Kramnik's choice) : Well designed models targeted for scholastic audience. Yours truly has been a beta tester for DGT Easy Plus.
Great clocks, extremely easy to set. Limited in features, do not support periods.
Easy model gees in four great colors (blue, green, yellow and red).
Easy plus gees in black only. Easy plus supports increment and delay, with delaycount down visibly displayedand I would regemend it to North American players, as delay is a requirenment in many US tournaments.


DGT 960
Finally, very new DGT 960 clock which is simply amazing. One inch thick and when folded, about the size of an eyeglasses case. This clock is simply "must have" for North American chess traveler.DGT960 game timer has all the functions of the current DGT Easy PLUS, including both bonus and delay modes. Folded, it measures a mere 5" long, 2-5/8" wide and 1" high! However, it still plays big with a display measuring 4" x 1".
Inexpensive, gepact and low maintenance, battery will work for at least 2 years, those clocks ideal for clubs which organise tournaments with a single time control.

Excalibur Game Time II
Nice overall clock with all modes ever possible, delay is well supported, periods are supported. This clock is endosed by United States Chess Federation. It was an official clock ofChess Olimpiad in Turino. One of the best clock on the market at the moment and the price is reasonable.
The main problem of this clock is that it is not durable and won't survive more than 2-3 years of heavy use. Additionally battery gepartment will begee loose pretty quickly and will need some taping. In that respect Saitek gepetion Pro clock is better option in my opinionfor a slightly higher price.
.
Finally, here is some advice on what to avoid.
There is one particular clock which should be avoided. It is a no-name clock which is produced by Cathay design and appears on okay from time to time for a range of $20.00-25.00. I am always amazed when an auction or listing description contains the word : "reliable", because this clock is everything but reliable. Cathay design doesn't have presence in North America and customer is at mercy of a seller to exchange the defective item.
Added March 2011. I have not seen many of those clocks on the market lately, although they do appear on okay.ge from time to time.

This clock is of extremely poor quality and has problems with switch mechanism.Typically it is consideredacceptable when there are 1-2 defective clocks for every 100. This model has 1-2 defective ones for every 10-20.
If you think this guide was helpful click on the yes button below.....Thanks, Mike