I recently bought a Chronos clock, and I'm all excited about playing timed go, ya know--but I was unsure of something.

If a player captures a large number of stones that will perhaps take several seconds to collect, whose time is going down while that is going on? The Chronos clocks (and probably other clocks as well) have the ability to pause both timers, so that could be an option.

Anyway, I just wanted to get the official rules about this.

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I came to go through Kawabata and was introduced to a whole new world.

In many rule-sets the clock is stopped when more than two or three stones are captured. In some rules this only happens during byo-yomi.

But if you want official rules you need to check the rules of that specific tournament/national go association/etc . There is not one universal official ruleset.

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Sanity is for the weak.

i thought the number was way higher, something like 10 or 12 stones or more.

I think you have to pause if you need more then one grab of captured stones you may pause the clock<--personal opinion, not a rule.

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Embarrassingly, I can't remember the exact figure, but I _think_ it's 6 stones in BGA tournaments, where you are allowed to stop the clock to capture the stones and then restart it.

there's no official rule

most tournament organizers will set a common policy for their tournaments

I've seen the "rule" set as low as 3 or more stones, you can pause the clock.

I agree with most that it depends on the specific tournement rules you are playing under. At the SGC tournaments, you do not stop the clock to pick-up prisoners.

It probably not really an issue. If you have captured so many stones that it takes more than 15 sec. to pick them up, is time really a factor anymore?

Not really applicable in internet play, but on land there are misguided people who think it is clever to win a game on time in byoyomi by creating large dead groups that have to be taken off.

The new clock owner may wish to consider also the "rules" about which side of the board the clock goes, who resets the clock in byoyomi, who starts the clock, and the many other issues people have managed to raise in order to ruin a sociable game of go.

I've known a couple go players who, because of their age or neurological issues, were very slow and clumsy at placing and removing stones. Placing is only one stone, it's just a tax of a few seconds on each move, but if it takes you 3 or 4 or more seconds to remove each stone, then killing half the board can be a guaranteed way to lose on time.

I'm guessing you were being facetious, but still, I think it is important to have a rule that largish captures are "outside" of the time controls.

Some (many?) pros are very skillful at picking up captured stones, from years of practice. Quite beautiful to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt1FvPxmmfE

My solution:

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I've used those things. They struggle to pick up dust. I shudder at having to use on of those.

Being a Computer Science major, I much prefer to just wipe the board clean and reassemble the position minus the captured stones.

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Greetings,
Tommie

3dan EGF (AGA no 13477) || Tommie on KGS: 'June'|| DGS: 'Zhi Laohu' 纸老虎 = 'paper tiger' || Senseis : http://senseis.xmp.net/?tderz ||
ENFP (MBTI) - 'Find your own style within the Fundamentals of Go! '

Of course, there are official rules for quite some tournaments but not everywhere:

http://home.snafu.de/jasiek/egfgtr.html

§5.6: "Clock neutralisation [...] 5. By a player - after having placed one's stone - to remove three or more stones without liberty while in overtime or playing under finite thinking time rules."

sorry i don't have anything useful to contribute, but i've recently noticed how pros can pick up two stones in one motion and have been trying emulate it

In the above youtube video, Ishida Yoshio 9p picked up 5 stones in 1+ motions (1 + 4 stones).

I was actually wondering where you'd put the clock during the game and if there was a preferred location. By your post, am I correct in assuming that anything is fine as long as it's comfortable for both players?

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I came to go through Kawabata and was introduced to a whole new world.

In the U.S., the white player is given the right to put the clock where she wants - since most people are right handed, white puts the clock on the right.

From a tournament director standpoint, if a table is up against a wall, it is nice if the player's arrange themselves so the clock can be easily observed by the TD - but this is seldom regulated.

To add observational evidence, I've seen people try to pull the timesuji with captured stones a few time at tournaments (it is a very good way to make you an unpopular player) but I've never seen a dispute about clock placement. Anywhere above the tabletop seems to work for any player I've observed (or played). No setting it on your lap or under a hat in the next room!

Bruce "Time is relative" Young

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Currently reading: Plutarch, Cerebus, and D&Q 25th Anniversary

I think the clear solution is to not allow captures. (=