From: Larry Kaufman <lkaufman <at> COMCAST <dot> NET>
Date: 13 nov 2002
Subject: Re: A cultural difference?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Eduard Werner" <edi.werner <at> GMX <dot> DE>
To: <SHOGI-L <at> TECHUNIX <dot> TECHNION <dot> AC <dot> IL>
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 1:27 AM
Subject: Re: A cultural difference?


> For me, the main problem is grabbing a shogi piece with trembling
> fingers w.o. dropping it (unless I intend a drop, of course :-) With
> chess pieces, this is *much* easier: For a Shogi move, I need about a
> second (If I can't simply shove the piece but have to lift it and put
> it down), in chess, I have successfully mated K + Q against K with 5
> secs overall (ca. 12 moves). On the other hand, with byoyomi the
> advantage of the player with more time is much smaller than in
> sudden-death. Perhaps it would be an interesting idea to start byoyomi
> as soon as the first player uses up his time with more time given to
> the player who has not used it up yet? (Hmmm, did I make myself
> clear?!)
>
> Just my 2c
>
> Edi

     The "solution" in my opinion is quite simple; replace byoyomi with
"time delay" (a.k.a. "Bronstein mode") which is available on most digital
chess clocks.  This is actually much closer to what is used in professional
shogi.  They don't do byoyomi as such; they simply don't count the first 59"
(or any other fractional minutes) of each move.  If they did count
fractional minutes other than the first 59", it would be true time delay.
With byoyomi as we use it, it is normal to end up in it, partly because the
disadvantage is not so severe usually, as Edi says here.  But with time
delay, the player with extra time really has that much extra time, and so
there is a strong incentive to avoid byoyomi.  I think this is exactly what
Edi wants, and it should lead to better shogi quality because the % of games
ending with only byoyomi would be far smaller.
     Note that it does not have to mean longer games, because the initial
time per player can be reduced by half the number of minutes as the byoyomi
is in seconds, and the games should take about as long.  So instead of 30' +
30" (as used in the recent Shogi Forum event), it would be 15' with 30"
delay.  A player who made his moves consistently within 30" would still have
15' plus 30" per move available for the endgame.
     The point is that this way, the initial time can be used in the
opening, middle game, or ending, as the player thinks best, whereas with the
byoyomi way it must be used (at least partially) in the opening.  This delay
system is used in nearly all chess events in the U.S., and I highly
recommend it for shogi events everywhere.

     Larry Kaufman, amateur 5 Dan and US Shogi Federation Chairman