chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

.I'IMING OF MOVES 355
given penod ot tine, Iailing vhich he loses. His
Boves are timed by a clock and il he 6nds thh
dcfcctivc hc should infom tbe arbiter sbo is
enpowered to deal wnh aI conplainrs and
dispules concerning the clock. Should a player
complain aftcr cxcccdiDg the time limit he would
bc u.likcly to obtain .ed.ess. BothplayerJ clocks
may be stopped and play tenporarily susPended il
ihe clock is defective, ilanillegalnoveismadc, ifa
snbsdute piece is nor alailablc aicr promotion. or
it there is anoulsidc intcrruption, aslorexample a
ligtling tailurc. Either stalenale or checlnale
cnds rhe game and neither player can $bsequeiny
A demand lor somc ki.d oI time control arose
shcn compc tirive play began lo be laken senously
sarNr-aMANr dhcussed the rinins ol noves in L.
Paleade, 1836. ln tbe same ycar DES{THAFELLLS
offered ro play i match with a leading EnSlish
player andonc ofthe suggested rules qas $.r ailer
a game had lasted tso bourseachptaycrshould bc
liniled to a maximuo oI 1wo mnrutcs lor each
move wnb file hisquct. (French players nay wel
havc rcmcmbered the slowness oI MCDoNNELT\
playin his matches {nh BoulDoNN ars h ltrl4.) In
1844 Deschapelles- commcniine on the enurroN
Saial-Amant match olthe previons year, said lhat
the games areraged ni.e houA, thatis, nine rines
longer lhan the ganes oi rhe grand nustcs'.
Deschapeles took an cxtrcmc view. bul he had
idenliicd a changc in ihe speed oi play. In the
abonive ncgoriaiions lor a reruin narch Nirh
s2inrAm:nr sr,unron oflnred a rimc limit ol l0.
or 15, or20, or25, or30miautcs, atyourpleasure.
addiogrharallaycrwhoeaceeded hisalloued tine
should be lined one guinea. Pl.yers were concerned
to prevent an oppone.t lrom sittinc too
longoveranove, lheoverall limclora gamcbeine
ot less coosequcn.c. HARRwrrz. playing a Batch in
which cach move Nas tined separalely, ndiculed
the idea by raking ihe ful ilo{ance lbr tfis li6r
nove. Another suggesior was madcr if a playcr
has not conplcted his move wilhin the specilied
timc hh opponent nray lall upon him to do $
Nnhin a turthei l)criod, also predelemined. ln
modern drauEhts each mole h.s a dne [nn.
'A. Cantab. wrote in the al&ess Plure/s Chro
ni./e,1852. .,uries, ere now, h!!e convictcdocn.
and judgcs havc haagcd them, to save lnne.
RailNay companies al tbe present day break our
legs, and sometimes ournecks,lo sile ioe. Our
chessplayeB re $e only men in this country who
disreAard it. He proposcd that cach playersbould
havc a th ree -hour s andglass which would run only
during his nove. and that the gane Nould cnd
eilherwith n.te orlhe sand runniaC out. A similar
systcm. a spc.ificd nDmber ol moves in a specified
time. 6rst suggested by lon der LASA, and now
eener ly used, wasidlroduced in 1861 o, accounl
of lhe innuencc of thc London player Georee
Webb Mcdley t. 1E2G98) He had plnyed a matcn
with (ol,s.d in 1860 after *hich he rrote: Her
Kolikh .f conrse Non themalch butinone.rlvo
of the games I w5 fortunale enough to run hin
rar her h ard. In one gane some posidon oI di lncufty
rrose ind oler three succcssivc moles he took
6ore rhan lwo houBi occupying 55 ninutes over
onc ol them. Now, Sir, although this was conplimenlary
to mysk l, n w6,6you mayimagine.
a we..iness 10 the iesh, andlseimywiis to work
. . . As aconsequence oI Medley s re@nnenda
tion a tine linir of 24 noves in two honn.
neasnred by sandglasscs. sas used lor tbe
Kolisch NDERSSEN match of ADg. 1861 and the
Brisrol lounramcnt ol sept. 1861. Ailer these
cvcnts time control vaned: Pans 1867. r0 moves
every half hourr Dundec 1867, 30 moves in lwo
hous: Baden Badcn 18?0 and Leipzig 1871, both
coniolled by Kolisch,20 noles an hour. Whcnrhe
g.ear t ndon loundnent of 1883 came along a
rime limir .f l5 noves an hour was used..nd
Medley, solc suruiving iruslee ot tbe LdwlNrrA'
fund, lhc balance oI whicb was givcn 10 the
congressi pressed lor the use ofclocks. Also. ihe
practice oI stopping the cloctsshile asealedmove
*.s being considcrcd. a privileSe ihal had led to
abusc. was abandoned. Rales oI play havevaried,
bur lhe tining metbod has not changed. {Only in
is each movc timed.) In 1900
sanuel walker, a l,i!crpool walchmaker. tookoul
a palcnt for 'Improvcmenls in Time Indicators tor
Chcss orother GaneJ. The hands noveclocksise
lor one plaler, anli clockvise lbr his opponcDt,
and lhe gaoe is decided on timc if the difference
exceeds a spe.incd limit. Although nol wnhour
mcrit rhis radical idea made liule inpression Nol
lonC after the Second World War ih.rc was a greal
incre,se nr tnc numbcr ofseekend toumanents:
.rosded programmes lelt no time lor adjourn
me.ts and suddetr death ine limils scrc nrlroduced.
For eraBple. alter a fouFhour phynrg
period vi1h. time limit of48 moves in tso houB
the flaycn'clo.ks would be sel back ten ninules
aDdthe game hadlo beconpleledinfterenaiding
whrt has cbanged is rhc players' attilude to tinre
conlrol ,{t fi61 it was rega ed as a spur. and a
claim on time unsporling. Such sciuples have long
since dnappeaied. ln 1882 a baiiistcr and kccn
.he$ play.r wordsworth Donislhorpe (1847
l9i4) wroter 'The objecr of rhe tine linit is ro
insure a reasnable rale of progress, and ooi to
aflord a neansoisnatchinga gamcoutof thc hands
otthe winncr ifhc snouid by ovemigbt o! oistake
miscount his moves or lorgei lo {atch bn dock.'
Donisthorpe's connenr w.s prolokcd by an
incidenl rhal aliectcd rhc prospects of anothe.
Brithhcr (by bnih) in the Vienna roumament oi
1882. In rhe thnd round MASoN, playing nrRD,
olersbPPed the time limitbutscnton towinlour
hous lalcr. srrrNrrz succe$tully appealed to lhe
iournamenl commitree that the gime be awaided
n) Bird wh. h.d nrde no claim Thctournamcnt
ended .liei thirty lour rounds. Stciniiz and wrN-
AWER scorirg 2t poinh $hilc Mason with 23 poinrs