Lightning chess

[Wilson Gray]

You're right. Now that you mention it, it is common for a timer to be
referred to as a "clock." The timer on the old TV gameshow, "Beat The
Clock," was, needless to say, called a "clock."

-Wilson

On Feb 4, 2008 3:26 PM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Lightning chess
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm pretty sure that is called a clock, though your word makes more
> sense. The clocks I always played with did not have the reset mechanism,
> but we smacked the buttons pretty hard.  :) BB
>
> Wilson Gray wrote:
> > Not a clock. A timer. A player makes his move and smacks the top of
> > the timer with the palm of his hand to reset it for his opponent's
> > move. I assume that the top of the timer has some mechanism that
> > supports this. I've never really looked at it, having no personal
> > interest in this version of the game
> >
> > -Wilson.
> >
> > On Feb 4, 2008 2:49 AM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> >
> >>
>
> >> I have to admit, I haven't ever seen such a clock.
> >>
> >> The only chess clocks we could afford kept track of the overall time,
> >> not the time for each move.
> >>
> >> I do use byo-yomi, basically a form of per-move timing, when playing go,
> >> but do so over the Internet with computers keeping track of per-move
> >> time. BB
> >>
> >> Wilson Gray wrote:
> >>
> >>> Interesting. My experience agrees with AHD4. I've never played it
> >>> myself, but I've seen it played by others - I had a roommate who was a
> >>> player - and a timer was used to ensure that moves were made within
> >>> the time alloted. Most players made their moves in about three
> >>> seconds.
> >>>
> >>> -Wilson
> >>>
> >>> On Feb 3, 2008 11:32 PM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> The AHD4 says that "lightning chess" means "A form of chess in which
> >>>> each move must be completed within a very short time, usually ten seconds".
> >>>>
> >>>> When I played lightning chess in the early 1980s, we played with a
> >>>> maximum of five or ten minutes per player, not with a set time per move.
> >>>> Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_chess) confirms that
> >>>> playing with time per player is not the most common form of lightning chess.
> >>>>
> >>>> Further reference is available at
> >>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_control#Overtime_formats.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
>
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