This caught me a little by surprise. Initially I thought there was some lag trick occurring as I saw my opponent’s clock chew through 5 seconds or so, then revert back to 59 seconds. Once I read what had been changed I understood what was happening. and now I’m getting used to it.
The change makes sense. The clock starts when you make your first move. Compared with OTB this is an advantage for internet based playing. However, I would not extend this past 10 seconds in any format.
Having said that, it seems that the only format to which this makes any difference is bullet games (IMHO). In every other time format, this is inconsequential.
There are a lot of nay-sayers regarding this innovation. Mostly their concerns relate to being quick on the draw when the games commence. I agree this should be a consideration regarding how this sight positions itself going forward. Are bullet games about being fast, as well as being able to play chess well? Or should there be a bit of lee-way in when you commence your game? While I agree that time should be a factor with all rated games, we are not in the wild west, so each player having some grace when playing the first move is a positive.
Here are two things I particularly like about this innovation:
1. It ensures that both players have the full amount of time to make all their moves
2. More importantly, it doesn’t change that you can still flag your opponent by the most successful way possible: get them in such a tight spot that they are forced to stop and think!!!!
Personally with all the distractions I have around me at home whilst I’m playing, I appreciate this change. I support it, and believe ICC is making the right decision going forward in how they position their product to chess fanatics like myself.
On other matters:
I have to agree with Anotherfinemess: a useful innovation would be to be able to force the commencement of tourney games - or perhaps have a count down clock (similar to the shot clock in basketball) when a round for each tourney starts. Perhaps 10-20 seconds, and then your game starts if you haven’t manually started it already. Just a thought.
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