North American Chess Clock and Game Timer

This is a very good chess clock. Also at this time Amazon offers free shipping, which was outstanding (Ordered on Sunday, delivered on Tuesday, free). This clock will inevitably be compared to the sturdy Chronos clocks costing 3 or 4 times as much, currently without Amazon free shipping. I have not ever owned a Chronos, but I have played on them. I believe they are heavy duty and probably more likely to survive abuse than the DGT NA. However, I do not plan to abuse mine or allow anyone to abuse it. The only negative comment I have is that the section of the manual explaining the timing options is confusing. On page 9 it has a table of timing options, what the display is supposed to show, and a verbal explanation. Option 14 shows display left and right both showing 0.00.00. In fact, what you actually see is 1) 0:00 0:00 followed by 2) .00 0:00 followed by 3) X:XX 0:00, (where X:XX is what you set the left hand minutes to) followed by 4) X:XX .00 followed by 5) 0:00 X:XX (the 0:00 is the 3 digit bonus time in minutes and seconds). Five screens instead of one. The second screen shows 00 with "bonus" at the bottom, leading me to believe that the maximum bonus time was 59 seconds. But what the .00 means is the seconds in the left hand (or right hand) main control time. Bottom line, this clock does what I want, and very few other do, but it was difficult to ascertain that. And let me say that other chess clocks can also be hard to understand. OK. now for the good. I like the recessed power button so it does not get powered on /off accidentally. This is one of the few clocks that will allow a Fischer move bonus of 60 seconds. The in-game controls are clear and well thought out. It remembers your settings for each time option so you might need to program an option only once (unless you use that same option with different values). This clock will fit in the clock compartment of my chess bag. Some of the Chronos clocks are too long to fit. Last but not least, a lot of function for a reasonable price.

This clock is awesome! It's perfect for my needs. I recommend it. It's only $40. I hope this one becomes one of the defacto standards in chess clocks in North America. I love the DGT clocks! It doesn't weigh much. The batteries estimated life is 10 years. (has a battery low indicator) I recommend Energizer® Ultimate Lithium Batteries, or any other brand of lithium battery, as they don't tend to leak and are guaranteed to not leak. Easy to use. Easy to program. Easy on the wallet! I purchased a 2nd one! Check some YouTube videos on how easy this clock is to use. The one title is called: DGT North American Chess Clock Review by lambosandchess he walks you through every preset. Although for most tournaments, and casual play you probably only need : #1: Five minute Blitz game, #2: One time control, set it to whatever like 10 minutes, 15 minutes 1 hour etc. Sudden Death (no delay or anything) #14: One time control(set to whatever minutes/hours) with Fischer bonus/increment #20: One time control (set to whatever minutes/hours) with delay. In my video I uploaded, I'm hitting it more than I normally would, but it an take it. Also a couple videos with men playing blitz in the snow outside and the clock holds up! The videos are are titled: 1.) CHESS HUSTLER IN SHOCK! (GETS MAD) - NYC Chess Hustling 3 2.) CHESS HUSTLER FRUSTRATED (KNOCKS CLOCK OFF TABLE!) - NYC Chess Hustling 2 these are both by Chess Twins

This is an excellent digital clock and, in my opinion, the best clock for the money. why? 1. It is very easy to figure out and program. A 'cheat sheet' for setup is on the bottom 2. The display is clear and easy to read 3. The lever system is easy to see at a distance 4. It uses two standard AA battery that lasts ten years 5. It is light and portable but has a wide base that makes it stable when playing 6. Digital chess clocks are a must for modern tournament play. Analog clocks cannot take advantage of modern time controls. My thoughts on the competitors: 1. It is significantly easier to use than the more expensive Chronos which is sturdy and heavy (stable) but VERY difficult to program, and has to be disassembled to change batteries. Once programed, the Chronos works well. I suggest watching a YouTube video on programing it before buying. I would think that after a few moments of watching, most people would steer clear of this device. There is also a video on how to change the batteries. For Blitz (and only Blitz), I think the Chronos is the best chess clock. It comes in the 'Touch' and 'Button' variety. I have the Touch which has no moving parts. I think the Button version is more pleasant to use. 2. Much sturdier and nicer looking than the Saitek and Excalibur. 3. Much less likely to to break than the ZmartFun. My first one arrived broken. The replacement fell and broke. The company was very responsive to my email and offered to replace the one that I dropped! The clock uses four heavy C batteries which are strapped in and can easily break the fragile plastic holding it in. Hopefully there will be an updated model. There is a similar clock by DGT called the DGT 2010 SG. This model is a little more expensive and it's time controls that are geared more towards FIDE tournaments. The DGT North American is better for United States tournaments. The DGT web site has a side-by-side comparison. There is also a model called the DGT 10102 XL (red)/ 10103 XL (Beige) used in top level tournaments, usually FIDE rated. These are the only clocks that can be hooked up to a DGT electronic boards which cost between $650 and $850.00, give or take. I don't think that there is any compelling need to get this clock without the 'extras'. I think the DGT easy and the DGT 960 are flimsy and not as good for regular play as the DGT NA (and 2010). The DGT 960 is better for chess 960.

I loved this purchase! The clock was durable and strong. The chess clock is lighter than it looks. There are so many modes that you can choose from! The batteries were also included in a tiny plastic bag. I used that bag for storing spare batteries. Another thing that I like about it is that when someone runs out of time, there is a noticeable flag that starts to flash on the display screen. Another pro is that you can see what move you are on in the game and you can see which side is white and which side is black. When you have ten seconds left on the clock, it beeps once, and when there are the final five seconds left, the clock counts down with beeps and on the last beep, the sound holds longer. One of the little to zero things that I don't like about it is that there are so many unnecessary modes that are available, thus making setting the increment, delay, and time with no delay or increment a bit confusing. But I got over with this tiny trouble by just searching how to set a DGT North American chess clock on google and everything was just fine after. Another small drawback is that the box is too big for my chess bag. This is unimportant because you don't need to but the box in the bag with the clock. These tiny concerns aren't very important and I am very happy to purchase this. I would recommend this product to anyone.

As an avid chess player/tournament goer, it was time to buy my own clock and I didn't want to fork out over 100 bucks for the Chronos (which is practically the only clock seen at my club). So I bought this based on the "bang for buck" concept. It is good overall, but there are some minor annoyances that detract from it being the perfect clock. Pros - VERY easy to set. Literally, out of box and figure out all settings in less than 5 minutes. Also, you don't need to carry the manual because it has a cheat sheet on the bottom. - SMOOTH move paddle. This is just an aesthetic thing, but it feels... elegant... when you push the time paddle to end your move. Quiet but quality. - Easy to fix in the middle of a game. This is think is important, because everyone makes mistakes. - CHEAP. Not in quality but in price. - I like how the display looks. Cons/annoyances - In order to start a new game, you need to turn off the clock completely, then turn it back on, then choose the time control again. Since it remembers your last time control, it isn't that hard (you push four buttons) but it can be frustrating when you are trying to play multiple games with your friends. That said, this is not an ideal blitz clock. It will suffice, but this is definitely suited for tournaments. - Most disappointing to me is that, though it claims to have all major North American time controls, it is missing an important one. The time control 40 moves in 2 hours + 1 hour thereafter WITH a 5 second DELAY. This is fairly common (at least in Texas) to have a delay on the control, but this clock does not do the move counter (i.e. automatically add time after the fortieth move) with a delay. It will do it with an INCREMENT, but not a delay. This would be annoying, but you can get around it... you can use a delay time control that will not automatically add time unless you run out of your original 2 hours, or you can manually add the hour after the 40th move. Since the clock is easy to set, this isn't too bad I guess. So it still works, but not *perfectly*. I have used this control in 2 tournaments already in the past three months, so. - Only shows seconds when you go below 20 minutes of time. For example it shows 0:21 when you have 21 minutes left, and shows 19.45 when you have 19 minutes 45 seconds left. This can be a little annoying because when you look at your time, it might say 0:28. Does that mean I have 28.59 or 28.11??? Fifty seconds is a lot of time to be uncertain about. It also does not show tenths of a second when you go below 10 seconds. - Only choices for sound are silent (so you don't know when your opponent flags), or, really annoying countdown beeps (that would annoy the tournament hall for sure). --- I know it seems there are more "cons" than good things, but I was just elaborating on those parts to explain to anybody who is curious. Overall, it is a very solid clock that, with some minor adjustment, can be used for any control. Despite the minor annoyances, it is very durable, feels professional, and incredibly easy to set. It is no wonder this is the official clock of the FIDE and (the international version) was used in the World Championship match last month. I would recommend it to anybody wanting an affordable clock. If you DO have the 150 bucks, I would say definitely buy the Chronos, learn to set the three or four settings you use, and you will have a perfect clock indeed. Until then, this is second best.

Very easy to program various tournament settings, delays and bonus scenarios. Convenient that the various settings are printed on the base of the unit. Very quiet lever / buttons. So many timers are poorly designed with loud "clack" when the button is pressed. My son's chess team uses DGT Easy Plus timers and we almost bought one, but this is a much better quality and design with many more useful settings. It is also great to pull a timer out in tournament play to move along time wasters and notation players who like to "slow play" a better player. Practicing with a clock teaches a player that they have plenty of time as long as they don't waste time. Players that aren't used to a clock often panic when you set one down for your matches.

If you play in tournaments in North America, this is the clock you want to have. If you don't play in tournaments in North America, this is the clock you want to have. It is VERY nice!

Very easy to use and very practical. You can set it to a variety of modes and it comes with batteries included. It's fun to go back and forth with a friend. Makes the game interesting. It comes with pre-programmed modes and under each pre-made mode you can set the time to whatever you want. The two modes I primarily use are standard and fischer clock (bonus increment per move) But you can also set it to a variety of other modes. Also you can set it so that you have more time than your opponent, or vise versa, for time handicaps. The wide base is just the right size, I only wish the lever had a bit more resistance to it. Because of the impressive functionality, digital programming and move number recording. I would rate 9.5/10. Also it's very energy efficient, like a digital watch.

A great clock.

Es un excelente reloj.

Very good timer

El mejor reloj de ajedrez calidad precio

Compared to a Saitek clock I had before, this one is simpler to set up. It's very easy to use, it clearly displays time in seconds throughout the game (as opposed to only after time drops below 5 min on the other clock).