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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RADIO ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING Fisher clock based on a computer. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering
Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering / Clocks, timers, relays, load switches There are many chess players among radio amateurs. Many of them assemble chess clocks on their own. However, homemade devices cannot be used in more or less serious competitions, mainly because they do not meet FIDE requirements. This situation is explained not so much by the complexity of implementing the necessary timekeeping algorithms using devices based on logic chips of a low and medium degree of integration, but by the lack of awareness of developers about the types of chess clocks and the requirements for them. In order to fill this gap, at the beginning of the proposed article it is told about the history of chess clocks, their classification and modes of operation. Given that today in every office, and many at home, there are computers, the author offers readers a program developed by him that implements all the functions required from an electronic chess clock (ESC) with a clear display of the situation on the screen, and talks about the design of the simple set-top box necessary for this. to the computer. An integral attribute of chess tournaments and matches is the clock. The most ancient were sand, they were replaced by mechanical, electrical and, finally, electronic. Modern ESCs are often referred to as "Fischer clocks". To understand the reasons for the appearance of this name, let's turn to history. Once upon a time, chess was played without time control. It happened that a player, having got into a deliberately losing position, took his opponent "to starve". The games dragged on for many hours in a row, for days. The luminaries managed to think over individual moves for several hours. The drop that overflowed the cup of patience was an incident at the international tournament in 1851. The judge of the party, William-Macklow, made a historical record: "The game is not over, both opponents fell asleep ...". Two years later, in the Harwitz-Leventhal match, for the first time, the opponents were limited in time, giving 10 minutes to think over each move. The clock was an hourglass, each opponent has his own. For exceeding the time limit, a fine was imposed. In 1866, in the Andersen-Steinitz match, the hourglass was replaced by a mechanical one, although not yet a special chess one, but an ordinary one. The chess clock with two dials was invented in 1883 by the Englishman Thomas Bright Wilson. Their design was still far from modern, but it allowed one clock mechanism to start another when it stopped. A year later, Amandus Shearwater received a patent for the industrial production of chess clocks. In 1886, they were already available in stores in Liverpool. Since 1899, a "flag" appeared in the chess clock, showing that less than three minutes remained before the time limit expired. The idea was proposed by D. B. Meyer. On fig. 1 shows one of the early Ferranti chess clocks.
The prototype of the current mechanical chess clock appeared in 1900 thanks to Weenhoff's improvements. Around the same time, American Henry Warren invented the electric clock. Their chess version went on sale in the mid-20s of the last century (Fig. 2).
The first ESCs in the world were made in Kyiv in 1964. The algorithm of their work was no different from the classic tournament ones. For a long time, ESCs were improved only in connection with technological advances in electronics: transistors were replaced by microcircuits, vacuum and gas-discharge indicators were replaced by LEDs and liquid crystals. Radio amateurs also contributed. Descriptions of several variants of self-made ESCh can be found in [1-3], and in [4] there is a diagram of a prefix that turns an ordinary microcalculator into a chess clock. But in the early 90s of the last century, the calm course of events was disturbed by the American grandmaster Robert James Fischer, the eleventh world chess champion. Coming out of a long seclusion, he once again surprised everyone by offering to play "Fischer chess" according to "Fischer's clock". For reference: "Fischer Random Chess" is distinguished by the fact that the pieces lined up, as usual, in the initial position, are swapped by lot before the start of the game. As a result, the knight may well end up in the place of the queen, the rook in the place of the bishop, and so on. Instead of a single one, it turns out 960 variation-plus seconds for each move made. If, while thinking about the next move, you constantly fit into this bonus, the "flag" on the clock will never fall. Moreover, the margin of time may increase. An experienced chess player in such conditions will bring any theoretically winning position to victory. R. Fischer patented his watch [5]. Unlike "random chess", they received FIDE support. The new method of time control was first put into practice in the Fischer-Spassky match (1992). And since 1999, the "Official FIDE Digital Chess Timer" (Fig. 3) in the "Fischer clock" mode has been used in the team chess championships of Europe and the world. The official watch also provides other, no less interesting modes. There are 12 in total, the main ones are discussed below.
Time delay ("delayed clock", Andante) - after each move made by one of the opponents, the countdown of his opponent's time does not start immediately, but with a delay, for example, by 5 seconds. If the player manages to make a move during this time, his clock will not change the indication. Unused bonus time does not accumulate, so playing "super-fast" does not give any advantages. This regulation is common in tournaments held under the auspices of the American National Chess Federation (USCF). With zero delay, timekeeping is no different from conventional mechanical chess clocks. The disadvantage of "clocks with a delay" is the invariability of their readings with a fairly fast game. For players, this is involuntarily associated with a malfunction of the watch mechanism. Adding time without accumulation ("Bronstein's clock", Adagio) is a mode equivalent to the one discussed above, but the time is added not before, but after the move made (the arrows move back). If a new move is made before the "addition" has expired before giving another one, the clock automatically returns to the original, without additions. The method was proposed back in the 70s by the Soviet grandmaster D. Bronstein. Psychologically, "Bronstein clocks" are more attractive than "delayed clocks", since their readings are constantly changing, convincing chess players that the mechanism is working. Time increment with accumulation ("Fischer's clock", "FIDE clock", bonus, progressive) - an algorithm similar to "Bronstein's clock", but the unused prize time is accumulated. The amount of time after each move increases by a set number of seconds, regardless of how much the player thought about this move. A series of "super-fast" moves can accumulate enough time for a long analysis of the position. Whether this is good or bad - chess theorists argue to this day. Auxiliary modes ("hours for fun", "hourglass", "gong") make ESHCh attractive to the consumer. At least that's what manufacturers think. Indeed, after a serious game, you can afford to relax and play, for example, in a mode where the time spent on thinking about a move is automatically added to the opponent. Another auxiliary mode "gong" dates back to the 30s of the last century, when mass tournaments were practiced, in which the games were played simultaneously by all participants. Strictly fixed intervals of time were allotted for thinking over each move, informing everyone about their expiration at once by blows of the real gong. A chess player who did not manage to make a move before the gong a couple of times was considered a loser. It is very difficult to rotate "back and forth" the hands of a mechanical watch. Therefore, it is possible to successfully implement new principles of time control only with the help of electronics. So, with the light hand of Fischer, ESH got a "second wind". In accordance with the current FIDE rules, today international tournaments are held only with the use of ESH. As a rule, the first 40 moves are played with the usual time control, and then the "Fischer clock" is switched on. Many national chess federations, including the Russian one, are systematically replacing mechanical clocks with electronic ones. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of "FIDE clocks", these plans are far from complete. As an alternative to ESC, you can find many programs on the Internet that turn a personal computer into a chess clock. Of the free ones, the most famous are [6-8]. Their common shortcomings: only digital time indication, imitation of pressing the clock buttons using a conventional keyboard. It is placed on the side of the chessboard, one player uses the ESC key, the other - ENTER. Practice shows that when playing "blitz" for some especially expressive chess players, the strength of a standard computer keyboard is clearly insufficient. The digital time display makes it very difficult to play in time trouble. It is extremely difficult to keep track of the number of remaining seconds with peripheral vision, without being distracted from the board; the convenient flag of an ordinary chess clock immediately comes to mind. Therefore, in addition to the digital on the screen, an "analog" indicator is needed. For example, such as in the program [9], in the initial state of which two green circles-dials are visible on the monitor screen. As each player spends time, blue-colored sectors grow on the dials. The game ends when one of the dials turns completely blue. If we take as a basis a similar method of indication, adding a digital one to it, provide for modern time tracking modes, the ability to control using additional sufficiently durable and convenient buttons, we will get EShCh that are not inferior to the official ones. On fig. 4 and fig. Figure 5 shows the simplest schemes, according to which two external buttons (one for each opponent) can be connected to a computer - respectively, to the LPT- or COM-port connectors. A current of 1 ... 2 mA will flow through the contacts of the buttons SB2 and SB5 that are closed when pressed. This value can be considered optimal. With a larger value, the contacts will quickly burn out, with a smaller value, the probability of unreliable operation increases due to the instability of the contact resistance.
Buttons can be placed both in general and in two separate cases with a length of connecting wires up to several meters. One option is to use two computer "mice", even if they are faulty. In each of them, the contacts of all available keys are connected in parallel, which allows you to press any one without looking. The rest of the "stuffing" is not used. To make the structure mechanically stable, the rubberized ball is removed. There is only one drawback - the "non-chess" way of pressing the buttons (although someone will consider this an advantage). On fig. 6 shows a diagram of a more complex block of remote buttons (BVK). Its details are placed inside the standard "Yantar" chess clock, the clock and button mechanisms of which are not subjected to any alterations. This became possible thanks to the use of non-contact optical sensors of the position of the buttons already present in the watch. The sensors consist of emitting diodes BI1, BI2 and dual phototransistors BL1, BL2.
The socket XS1 BVK can be connected to both parallel and serial ports of a computer. It is enough to make the appropriate cable according to the diagrams shown in Fig. 7 (to the LPT port) or in fig. 8 (to COM port).
Shown in fig. 5 and 8 sockets XS1 (DB-9F) are docked with the DB-9M plugs of the COM1 port installed in modern computers. The COM2 port is usually equipped with a DB-25M plug, the pin assignment of which is somewhat different. Connectors for serial and parallel ports of computers of outdated types, mainly manufactured in the USSR, are distinguished by a great variety. GDR and Poland. In all such cases, the BVK will have to be connected to the computer connector, focusing on the names of the port lines shown in the figures. Let's return to fig. 6. The current through the emitting LEDs VI and BI2 is set by resistors R1 and R4 (when connected to LPT) or R1-R4 (when connected to COM). The emitters and their corresponding photodetectors (BL1, BL2) are located in such a way that the optical connection between them is interrupted, being in the appropriate position, by the rocker of the push-button mechanism of the chess clock. For example, when the right button is pressed, there should be no connection BI1-BL1, the phototransistors of the assembly BL1 should be closed. When both buttons are pressed (full stop of the clock), the phototransistors of both assemblies (BL1 and BL2) are lit and open. Experiments have shown that the signals of optical sensors reach an amplitude sufficient for direct supply to the inputs of computer ports only at a very small distance between emitters and photodetectors. Therefore, in the BVK, amplifiers-inverters of sensor signals are provided - transistors VT1 and VT2. Their collector loads when connected to the COM port are resistors R7 and R8. No termination resistors are required to work with the LPT port. Diode VD1 - protective, in case of voltage reversal on the RTS and DTR lines of the COM port. BVK is assembled on a fiberglass board with dimensions of 95x15x1 mm. As shown in fig. 9, this board (4) is glued from the inside to the upper wall of the Yantar watch case. All parts and printed conductors are located on the free side of the board. Optical sensors 85 are located at its opposite ends at a distance of approximately 2 mm from each other and near the corresponding buttons 3. The distance between the emitting diode and the phototransistor assembly working together with it is 6...8 mm. Other elements of the BVK are installed on the board in such a way as not to interfere with the course of the rocker arm 1.
Socket XS1 is mounted on the removable back wall of the watch case and connected to the board 4 by a wiring harness 5. Due to lack of space on the board, the VD1 diode and resistors R1, R4 are soldered directly to the socket contacts. In BVK, designed for connection only to the LPT port, Diode VD1 and resistors R2, R3, R7, R8 can not be installed. Elements of optical sensors - emitting diodes and phototransistors - were taken from computer "mice" Genius Easy Mouse. When replacing them with similar devices from "mice" of other types, you may need to select the resistor values: R1-R4 to set the current to 4 ... 8 mA through the emitting diodes, and R5, R6 to achieve reliable operation of the sensors. Diode VD1 and transistors VT1, VT2 - any small. All resistors - MLT-0,125. The DB-9F socket can be replaced with SNP101-9G or another one suitable for the number of contacts and dimensions by changing the XP1 cable plugs accordingly (see Fig. 7 and 8). The program "Electronic chess clock". For those interested in the details of the algorithm of its work, there is also a source text in C. The program was developed for the MS DOS operating system and a VGA video adapter (640x480 peak), which allows you to run it on the most "ancient" computers, often gathering dust in closets. It is possible to work under Windows in DOS emulation mode. Immediately after launch, tell the program how to control the clock (buttons, optical sensors, ESC and ENTER keys on the computer keyboard), which port the buttons or BVK are connected to (LPT1, LPT2, COM1, COM2) and select the time control mode (clock with a delay , "Bronstein clock", "Fischer clock", hourglass). It remains to set the time allotted to each player for the entire game, and indicate the amount of delay or increase in time. The computer accompanies all actions for setting modes with hints. The main screen of the program, shown in Fig. 10 contains two round dials.
The countdown is carried out both analogously (time spent - white and yellow sectors, remaining - purple sectors), and digitally. The display at the top of the screen displays the current time - the readings of the computer's internal clock. With the 5 key, the chess clock can be temporarily stopped and restarted. By pressing the 7 key, you can correct the values of the counter of moves of any player (displayed in the lower corners of the screen). This may be required if the watch button is pressed by mistake. As soon as the player has less than 1 minute of time left, a white “last mile” bar appears at the bottom of the screen under his dial, gradually filling with blue. It is on it that they are guided in time pressure. In accordance with FIDE rules, the expiration of time is indicated by the stoppage of the clocks of both opponents, a sound signal and the inscription STOP on the screen. The inability to determine the winner, inherent in the game with a mechanical clock, has been eliminated when the “flags” have fallen almost simultaneously, when, regardless of the position on the board, the judges record a draw. Computer-based ESCH can also be used in other games: checkers, sports bridge, go, renju. Literature
Author: S.Ryumik, Chernihiv, Ukraine
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