The Chronos Chess Clock: A Step Above the Rest

Are you a fan of speed or tournament chess? Do you use a cheap clock with sticking or loud buttons, a plastic casing, and questionable quality? Check out the Chronos chess clock, it really is far superior to the cheap plastic models.

Its chassis is made of aluminum, which makes it a highly durable chess clock. For years they were only offered in a basic beige color, but recently more have been added, giving the consumer a variety of colors to choose from. It is a digital chess clock, so there is no guesswork or confusion as to when a flag is going to fall. You can clearly see the big numbers, which indicate how much time each player has left and is accurate down to 1/120^th of a second. There is no question exactly how long is left before the timer hits zero, as there sometimes is with the older, analog versions of chess clocks.

The buttons are very smooth, quiet, and easy to press. They are also big enough so that even in the fastest blitz or bullet game, your fingers will not be sore from pressing the thin metal buttons found on some chess clocks. Newer versions of the Chronos even have a touch-sensitive button system that prevents players from hitting the clock with their pieces; it only responds to human touch! No moving parts, nothing to break. Just a silver disc sitting atop the chess clock that activates at the slightest touch.

There are lights on top of the chess clock that indicate which player is to move, as well. On the older full-sized models, there is a red LED light on each side of the clock, so it's easy to see from across the room if it is your turn to move by which light is on, giving more freedom to wander a bit at chess tournaments. Chronos now offers a mini-clock that is much smaller than the standard one. Based on the touch-button model, this clock features a single LED light located in the middle of the clock that turns either red or green, depending on which side is up to bat. Keep in mind which color light indicates your turn, and you can't go wrong.

The Chronos chess clock also comes with a nice amount of preset options, four of which are selectable immediately upon turning the clock on! It supports multiple, sudden-death tournament time controls, increments (seconds added per turn), even a cool `see-saw` time control that gives seconds to one side as it takes them away from the other until the button is pressed, then the opposite effect occurs. Therefore, it is in a player's best interest to make quicker moves, effectively limiting their opponent's available time.

You can also choose from a variety of different sounds the Chronos makes, or none at all for that quiet chess match. My personal Chronos chess clock is set to make no sounds when the buttons are depressed, but it beeps a few times when one player runs out of time. Sometimes, especially in a speed match, the players will not notice someone has run out of time for quite a few moves when using a chess clock that makes no sound. Suddenly, both players will call "TIME!" on the other, and nobody has a clue which flag fell first. It's a handy feature.

The Chronos is a little more expensive than other digital chess clocks on the market at about one-hundred dollars, but its sheer dependability and ruggedness more than makes up for the extra few bucks you'll spend. Some of the plastic models break rather easily, forcing the owner to replace it with another clock. Already this chess player has spent more on two cheaper models than if they had just purchased a quality Chronos in the first place. It's well worth its price, and then some.