So taking a tip from Bert Van Manen I purchased a digital chess clock and took it down to Huy Hoang Billiards to play a few games. We set the clocks (a chess clock is actually a side-by-side pair) to countdown one hour for each player. The beauty of this particular clock was that it not only timed our game, but kept track of the innings as well. (Not every clock has this extra feature.)
The short story is: it was fun, easy to manage, and revealed that in a leisurely paced game with many interruptions we still only averaged about 50 seconds or so per inning! I am going to keep bringing it with me whenever I go to play.
I am a big fan of timing the game AND keeping innings in tournaments, so this will be my new crusade. For starters I re-published Bert Van Manen's article on the use of clocks that originally appeared on his Facebook page in 2013 (and also here on AZBilliards!) I am hoping more players will get exposed to the idea and try it out. Chess clocks cost between $40-$120 depending on features... they are lightweight and can often fit into a cue case pocket.
If anyone else has used a chess clock to time a 3-cushion billiards game and would like to comment, please add your thoughts. The more we talk about it, the more the idea will (hopefully) spread.
And I will be happy to publish a review of any particular clock if any readers here on AZ would like to submit. (Send me a PM or contact me through my website.)
Here is the link to Bert's story: The Belgians use a chess clock, and so should we all
The short story is: it was fun, easy to manage, and revealed that in a leisurely paced game with many interruptions we still only averaged about 50 seconds or so per inning! I am going to keep bringing it with me whenever I go to play.
I am a big fan of timing the game AND keeping innings in tournaments, so this will be my new crusade. For starters I re-published Bert Van Manen's article on the use of clocks that originally appeared on his Facebook page in 2013 (and also here on AZBilliards!) I am hoping more players will get exposed to the idea and try it out. Chess clocks cost between $40-$120 depending on features... they are lightweight and can often fit into a cue case pocket.
If anyone else has used a chess clock to time a 3-cushion billiards game and would like to comment, please add your thoughts. The more we talk about it, the more the idea will (hopefully) spread.
And I will be happy to publish a review of any particular clock if any readers here on AZ would like to submit. (Send me a PM or contact me through my website.)
Here is the link to Bert's story: The Belgians use a chess clock, and so should we all
