lichess-org
Clock: How the first move is counted
Current state & background
When using the OTB clock, to start the game, a player has to press either side. The opposite side then begins counting down.
This is akin to games on Lichess, where white's first move isn't measured on the clock. I believe it is the intent to not measure the first move, based on the fact that there is no sound effect when tapping the clock for the very first time to start the game.
Problem
When white starts the game in the manner prescribed above, white's first move is not counted in the Moves: %s counter on the top-right.
e.g. if white plays 1. e4 and black plays ... e5, white's side will show Moves: 0 while black's will show Moves: 1
Possible solutions
There are a few approaches that can be taken to resolve this.
- Count the move on the first press
- Disable tapping and require players to press the ▶️ button in the middle instead. This is not so far from what Chesscom's dedicated clock app (Android, iOS) does, which lets you start either from the ▶️ button or by tapping (though if you start by tapping, Chesscom's app has the same problem described here).
- Add some indication on which side in white and which is black, perhaps? But then you couldn't place the phone on either the left- or right-hand side if the sides are hard-coded.
This list of ideas is not exhaustive.
Additional context
I played an OTB game recently with someone who is familiar with both OTB and playing on Lichess, and we identified this issue together.
To reach the best solution, it would be good to check with someone experienced with club play & digital clocks, on what would be intuitive.
Two things
- you might find commentary in #1824 good for context
- you said part of the problem Is if you play e4 e5 white will show 0 moves and black will show1. But technically if black clicks their side first to start white, that click isn't a move. It's essentially a start game click. Then from there all moves would be counted, no?
you might find commentary in Starting a Game With The New Clock Tool Is Not As Easy As It Was With The Old Clock Tool #1824 good for context
you said part of the problem Is if you play e4 e5 white will show 0 moves and black will show1. But technically if black clicks their side first to start white, that click isn't a move. It's essentially a start game click. Then from there all moves would be counted, no?
Thanks, it's interesting. There is just no indication that black has to do it, and in that manner. Maybe there should be some text on the screen to indicate that the black player should tap on their side to start the clock.
It also gives a different outcome to the Lichess-like suggestion, where white can play the very first move without the clock running.
I would finally note that this does not match physical digital clocks I have seen and interacted with.
On physical digital clocks,
- The two buttons would be put so they are roughly mid-way up
- Black would press a "⏯️play/pause" button to start the game
- White would play the first move and press the button on their side.
I don't think it is necessarily worth replicating the physical clock experience, as we do not have the first step, and a touchscreen lacks the three-dimensional physicality of a chess clock. We need to instead consider what would make more sense, striking a balance between OTB regulars and irregular chess players. I don't think there is an easy answer here but it seems like any solution is leaving people confused - so I'd err on what's more naturally intuitive to less frequent OTB players. Maybe it is as simple as including some signposting/messaging, of course.
I agree better text indication would prob be enough.
Part of the reason (noted earlier by Veloce in that ticket I shared) that you start by clicking the opposite side rather than play is it used as an indication of which side to start.
The reason for this is that either Side technically has a chance to start first. White/black isn't determined until this happens.
The reversible-orientation is the focal point for why it has a different nuance than a physical clock
Also of note, chess clock by chess.com standalone app shares the same logic as here