Chess clock
The Interesting Adventures of the Chess Clock It's hard to imagine a chess tournament without a clock these days. But it wasn't always like that. Until the middle of the 19th century Chess games were played without regard to time. Games could last for several days. It often happened that a player who was in a losing position would "wear out" his opponent, prolonging the game. At the first international tournament in 1851, the assistant arbiter, who recorded the moves in the Williams-Mucklow game, made a historical note: "The game remained unfinished, as both opponents fell asleep..." It couldn't go on like this In 1843 , observers described the match between Howard Staunton and Pierre Saint-Amand as more of a test of endurance than a chess game. Their 21 games were reported to have consisted of 66 moves and lasted 14.5 hours. The average game lasted 9 hours. In 1852 , an unknown amateur proposed t...