"Rapid Transit" chess....

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  • "Rapid Transit" chess....

    From the 40's to the 60's - "rapid transit" chess was popular in the days when chess clocks were not universal. A bell or a buzzer would sound every 10 seconds, and you would have to move. Failure to move was supposed to be a loss - although there always seemed to be some leeway given in any of the events I played in (or ran).

    This type of chess could be simulated on a digital clock by setting a very low initial time (e.g. 1 second) with a delay of 10 seconds - so that if you take 11 seconds for any move - you lose.

  • #2
    Re: "Rapid Transit" chess....

    Originally posted by Hugh Brodie View Post
    From the 40's to the 60's - "rapid transit" chess was popular in the days when chess clocks were not universal. A bell or a buzzer would sound every 10 seconds, and you would have to move. Failure to move was supposed to be a loss - although there always seemed to be some leeway given in any of the events I played in (or ran).

    This type of chess could be simulated on a digital clock by setting a very low initial time (e.g. 1 second) with a delay of 10 seconds - so that if you take 11 seconds for any move - you lose.
    In New York 1924 there was a side event Lightning Tournament, 10 seconds a move, won by Marshall.

    The 1934 Dominion Championship in Toronto had a 10 second a move Rapid-Transit event. 60 entries, Gale won. Sometimes clubs had a 20 seconds a move event. There would be a timer who would yell out something like "9 . . . White", and everyone with White would move together.

    I thought this would be a fun side event for current Canadian Opens.

    By the 1964 Canadian Open in Scarborough clocks were used, 5 minutes a game. 24 entries, won by Benko.

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    • #3
      Re: "Rapid Transit" chess....

      By 1955 Toronto had moved from 10 sec. Rapid-Transit to 5 minute Speed. In Ottawa Fuster won the Canadian Speed Championship. At the end of the 1957 US Open was the 10-sec. US Speed Championship won by Fuster ahead of Fischer, Byrne, Bisguiser. Returning home, Fuster easily showed all his 20 speed games from memory.

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