Newsgroups: rec.games.go
Subject: Go Timing
From: barryp@otago.ac.nz
Date: 10 Apr 92 11:53:53 +1300
Organization: University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

The following article was first published in Kiwi Go ( A publication
of the New Zealand Go Society).

In tournaments it is important that games be finished in a 
specified time so that the next round can start on time.  In 
games without time limits one player can delay playing until 
the other runs out of patience.  Sakata Eio, one of the greatest 
players of modern times, was denied entry to professional 
ranks for some years because the insei tournaments in those 
days had no time limits.  He couldnt compete on stamina when 
the games lasted several days.  for these and other reasons we 
have time limits and clocks.

The reader might like to read the book "The Master 
of Go" by Kawabata for some insight into Japanese feelings 
about the introduction of timing to professional games.  In this 
issue I wouild like to go into the different methods of timing 
games.

In New Zealand tournaments we use the system of byo-yomi 
used in the WAGC.  Each player has a set period of time for 
thinking and when this is used up they get a small amount of 
time (typically 30 or 60 seconds) to make each move.  This 
method works well and should be even easier to use now that 
byo-yomi clocks are available.

Where byo-yomi clocks are not available and to avoid having to 
get a third person to time byo-yomi tournaments in North 
America typically time overtime by allowing 5 minutes for 10 
moves.  This can lead to a rush to finish the 10 moves in time 
and can be quite distracting.  In some tournaments they even 
increase the number of moves to be played in each subsequent 
allocation of 5 minutes.

In amateur tournaments in Japan and China there is usually no 
overtime.  Players are expected to have finished their whole 
game within a set time.  This is a bit draconian and has the 
disadvantage that sometimes people continue playing a lost 
game in the hope that their opponent will lose on time.  It does 
have the advantage that the games get finished on time and it 
is possible with short time limits to play a 5 round tournament 
in one day.

Professional games have a much more generous time control.  
The time limits vary from 3 hours to 10 hours per player.  When 
the last 10 minutes come due the player goes into byo-yomi.  If 
they use a full 60 seconds that minute is marked off and they 
start counting the next minute.  Otherwise they keep the 
minute if they play within the 60 seconds.  A player effectively 
has 10 lots of byo-yomi.  When the professional play in quick 
game tournaments (Haya go) they typically play under the 
conditions we use for our provincial opens.

No discussion of time control would be complete without 
mentioning Taiwan where one can buy time.  If your time is 
running short you can give up a number of points to gain some 
more time to think.  This might avoid the unfairness of losing a 
"won" game on time.  Ing's clocks which allow the use of this 
system were the first clocks available here to time byo-yomi.

Chess timing is more uniform but less satisfactory.  Each player 
has to finish 40 moves in 2 hours. and often has to hustle to 
get finished.  Bobby Fischer (of the famous match with Boris 
Spassky) has proposed a new method of timing which may also 
be suitable for go.  In 1990 he patented a clock which starts 
off with 1 hour (10 minutes might be suitable for go) for each 
player for the first move.  Each time they press their clock a 
further dollop of 2 minutes (1 minute would be good for go) is 
added.  This allows you to use your time as you prefer, but 
might favour people who play quickly in the beginning.  His 
clock counts the time down in a synthesised voice which may 
annoy the traditionalists.

His method would definitely be an improvement over the 
current method of timing chess games.  I don't know whether 
he has had any success in getting people to use it.

Generally it seems that the byo-yomi method of 
counting times works well enough for go that no change is 
necessary.  I would like to see some games played using 
Fischer's method.  Perhaps the Americans might like to try it in 
preference to their method.  I don't know how easily available 
the clocks are likely to be.
Newsgroups: rec.games.go