Lately I’ve been messing around with various chess clocks, like, you know, the quick mobile apps and then those more serious tournament timers. After trying a bunch of options, settings, and a lot of little setups, I thought I should tell you what I found about the different types of chess clocks, the timing modes in general , and which ones are really worth using when you stop tinkering and actually play.

Why I Didn’t Get a Chess Clock Earlier

I didn't get a chess clock until about 2 years into playing chess for the sole reason that I almost exclusively played online during that time and if I went to a chess club clocks would be provided.

Since then I've tried out several different types of chess clocks both very classic and non-standard types and I want to talk to you a little bit about those and which ones I recommend.

Most Chess Players Only Need a Chess Clock App

Before we start I wanted to clarify that about 75% of chess players probably only need to download the chess clock app of which there are several. Chess.com has a free chess clock app. There are also other chess clock apps and I mean most people aren't going to need more than this.

So if you didn't know there was a chess clock app then that's probably the best place to start because they are free and you're already taking your phone with you so it is the ultimate portable chess clock.

But I'm kind of guessing that if you're reading this you already know about the chess clock apps because you're probably considering buying an actual chess clock.

Tempest Chess Clock

If you're looking for the next step up from the app then I would recommend a Tempest chess clock. I have two Tempest chess clocks here both were gifted to me by Tempest which is a small company hoping to disrupt the chess space.

The way that the Tempest clock works is that it's a docking platform for your phone and then you tap the platform to change whose turn it is on the timer.

This also comes with Tempest software so they have a specific app that you can only use if you've purchased one of their products.

What I like about it is that it's very very easy to set up. The actual docking platform itself is very lightweight, takes up no space, and it's basically an upgrade from the app because you can actually hit it like a chess clock.

Because I'm holding it in my hand it's not level but when it's level on a table tapping it changes whose turn it is.

You can change this so that you can have odds, personalize the colors, and it also gives you Chess960 positions and other stuff you can change.

So it has delay instead of increment or different things like this. It has chess, backgammon, Scrabble, and also a sand timer. Basically all of these games have different timing systems and the Tempest works for that.

But I use it for chess because that's the only one of those games that I play.

Why Tempest Is Better Than a Phone App

I think the pros to having a Tempest clock over the phone app are really quality of life improvements.

With the phone app I've played against quite a few people who don't seem to know how to tap a phone like they're trying to break my phone when they tap it for some reason and so it doesn't register their move which is kind of a problem.

Also it's just not that enjoyable to tap a phone compared to tapping a clock.

I think it looks better because you can see the clock or if you have an audience they can also see the clock.

Obviously this uses a phone so it's not going to pass for an actual clock in a FIDE rated tournament for example but it is much simpler to use and cheaper than a DGT clock.

This is the classic version and it retails for $39 so that's like I don't know £30 or £35.

One of the nice things I like about this is actually that it supports a small company in chess and it's very hard to find small companies in chess these days.

It's an innovation and it's very rare to see innovations in chess.

DGT Chess Clocks

Now obviously both the app and the Tempest clock are not going to work if you're playing a USCF tournament, a FIDE rated tournament, or anything where you're playing real rated chess and this is when you would need something like a DGT clock.

DGT is a company that makes electronic chess boards and a variety of clocks three of which are FIDE approved.

I'm going to break down the three FIDE approved clocks for you and tell you which one I think is best.

DGT 2010 Chess Clock

There is the DGT 2010. This is the most common clock I would say that I've seen at chess tournaments.

This is because it's the budget option for FIDE approved clocks. It retails from like 60 to 65.

This clock is:

• small

• light

• portable

and I mean it's ugly in my opinion. No offense DGT but I really don't like how it looks.

Like I said it's the most popular probably because it's both smallest and cheapest.

But my main gripe with the DGT 2010 is that you cannot see how many seconds you have if you're playing classical chess.

So you have to wait until you get under 1 hour to see how many seconds you're playing with so it's actually kind of hard to notice when you're receiving increment.

I actually have a friend whose opponent tampered with his clock before a classical game started and changed the increment.

If you're playing with a DGT 2010 where you cannot see how many seconds that you're getting you might not notice if you and your opponent are getting the same amount of increment until much later on into the game.

DGT 2500 vs DGT 3000

Now that we've established that the DGT 2010 is a waste of everybody's time we can talk about the DGT 2500 and the DGT 3000 which are the other two options.

These are the red DGT clocks that you've likely seen.

The DGT 3000 is the most common and the DGT 2500 is a newer version.

The DGT 2500 retails from 60 to 75 and the DGT 3000 seems to go for between 70 and 90.

There are some perks to this clock:

• higher contrast screen

• bigger numbers

• simpler to use

However I prefer the overall look of the DGT 3000 and most critically the DGT 3000 is the only one of these clocks that is compatible with a DGT board.

Problems With DGT Clocks

DGT continues to disappoint everybody by not having back lighting in their clocks.

So if you are in a place with really bad lighting I don't know go outside.

The clock I own is the DGT 3000 Limited Edition version which I got almost 2 years ago and still seems to be available so doesn't actually seem that limited in its edition.

I would go as far as to say this is the only clock DGT has made that is not ugly.

When you turn it on it is a little bit overwhelming because you have a lot of symbols in the top and along the bottom and you do really have to learn how to use it.

But as you can see you can actually see the seconds from the moment you start the clock which is so critical for when you're playing classical chess.

Final Ranking of DGT Clocks

My ranking for the DGT FIDE approved clocks would be:

1. DGT 3000

2. DGT 2500

3. DGT 2010

Do You Really Need a Chess Clock?

I do kind of want to underline the fact that I've had this clock for about 2 years now and I've used it probably less than 10 times.

Most of the time if I'm playing chess with my friends we're:

• playing online

• at a tournament

• at a chess bar

• or we've forgotten a chess clock and just use our phones

Because let's be honest I'm not carrying a chess clock around with me everywhere on the off chance someone's going to want to play chess with me.

But there is some kind of satisfaction into having all of the equipment and knowing how it works.

You don't have to spend a lot of money on chess. It's one of those hobbies that can be free but it's also kind of nice to have the fun fancy clock and know how it works.

Final Thoughts

I genuinely don't see the utility in buying random offbrand chess clocks.

In Europe you will literally never ever see a chess clock other than the three that I've mentioned at a chess tournament because I don't think any of the others are allowed.

I think that there's value in owning and getting used to what you're going to be using when you play a real tournament.