Question 1

Is the Knight Clock fully compliant with official FIDE rules?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Knight Clock is designed strictly according to the FIDE Handbook rules for tournament play. The calculations for Fischer increments, Bronstein delays, and standard delays match FIDE standards exactly.

Question 2

Can I run this chess clock application completely offline?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely! Knight Clock is 100% self-contained. It requires no active internet connection, cellular data, or local Wi-Fi permissions during matches, making it highly reliable in deep tournament halls.

Question 3

Are there advertisements displayed during an active chess game?

Accepted Answer

No. To guarantee absolute focus during competitive play, Knight Clock has zero banner advertisements, interstitial pop-ups, or audio ads during active matches. Ads are only loaded outside gameplay.

Question 4

What is the difference between Fischer Increment and Bronstein Delay?

Accepted Answer

Fischer Increment adds a specified amount of time (e.g., 3 seconds) to a player's clock *before* they make a move, allowing their total time to accumulate. Bronstein Delay pauses the countdown for the delay period or adds back only the time actually consumed up to the delay limit, preventing the time from exceeding the start of the turn.

Question 5

Does the app prevent my device screen from turning off during a match?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the application automatically requests an Android System Wake Lock when a match is running. This keeps your screen bright and active, ensuring it never goes black during long strategic sessions.

Question 6

How do I configure a custom time control?

Accepted Answer

Navigate to the 'Custom' setup tab in the navigation shell. Here, you can define independent base hours, minutes, and seconds, alongside custom increments per move or delay periods.

Question 7

What is US Delay and is it supported by Knight Clock?

Accepted Answer

Yes, US Delay (also called simple delay) is fully supported. Under US Delay, when it becomes a player's turn, the clock waits for the delay duration (e.g., 5 seconds) before subtracting any time from their main clock.

Question 8

Does the app save my favorite presets or custom settings?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Custom configurations and favorite FIDE presets are saved locally on your device using Android Shared Preferences. You will not lose your setups when closing or restarting the application.

Question 9

Is Knight Clock free to download, and are there paywalls?

Accepted Answer

Knight Clock is 100% free to download on the Google Play Store. All timing formats, presets, and customization options are fully unlocked with no hidden fees or paywalled upgrades.

Question 10

What is Tournament Lock mode and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

Tournament Lock mode prevents accidental taps from pausing or resetting the game. Once enabled, the controls are locked, and you must explicitly tap the central padlock icon to release the lock.

Question 11

Why does the clock warning screen turn red?

Accepted Answer

To provide clear peripheral visual warnings, the background of a player's clock screen flashes red when their remaining time drops below 10 seconds, helping them manage critical time scrambles.

Question 12

Is there a limit to the maximum time I can set for a match?

Accepted Answer

You can configure base times up to 9 hours and 59 minutes per player, with move increments or delays up to 99 seconds, which covers all standard classical and multi-day match formats.

Question 13

What happens when a player's time completely runs out?

Accepted Answer

The clock displays a high-contrast 'FLAG FALLEN' banner over the screen, sounds a distinct time-out buzzer alarm, and triggers a strong haptic vibration. The game immediately stops.

Question 14

Can I adjust the sound and vibration alerts?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can toggle both sound alerts and tactile haptic vibration feedback in the Settings tab. Turn them off for quiet tournament halls, or enable them for blitz gaming.

Question 15

Why should I use a mobile chess clock app over a physical clock?

Accepted Answer

Mobile chess clocks are highly portable, cost-effective, and provide backlit displays that are easy to read in low-light environments. They also allow you to save dozens of complex custom formats instantly.

Question 16

Which side of the board should the chess clock be placed on?

Accepted Answer

According to standard chess etiquette, the black player usually decides which side of the board the chess clock should be placed before the game starts, often depending on dominant hand preferences.

Question 17

What is a 'sudden death' time control?

Accepted Answer

Sudden death is a time control format where players must make all remaining moves in a single, fixed period of time (such as 30 minutes) without any move increments or delay extensions.

Question 18

Does Knight Clock drain mobile battery quickly?

Accepted Answer

No. Knight Clock is highly optimized. It uses native UI components, GPU-friendly rendering loops, and pauses background threads when a game is paused or inactive to conserve battery.

Question 19

What is a 'blitz' chess time control?

Accepted Answer

FIDE defines a Blitz game as one where all moves must be made in a fixed time of 10 minutes or less per player, commonly configured as 3 minutes with a 2-second increment (3+2).

Question 20

What is a 'bullet' chess time control?

Accepted Answer

Bullet chess is an ultra-fast format where each player is allocated less than 3 minutes, most commonly 1 minute flat (1+0) or 2 minutes with a 1-second increment (2+1).

Question 21

What is a 'rapid' chess time control?

Accepted Answer

Rapid chess is a medium-length format where each player receives between 10 and 60 minutes. Popular presets include 10 minutes flat (10+0) or 15 minutes with a 10-second increment (15+10).

Question 22

What is a 'classical' chess time control?

Accepted Answer

Classical chess is a long-form strategic format where players receive more than 60 minutes each. Tournaments often use 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, with a 30-second increment (90+30).

Question 23

Can I use Knight Clock for other board games like Go or Scrabble?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Since the timer is fully customizable, you can use Knight Clock as a general-purpose two-player board game timer for games like Go, Shogi, Scrabble, or Backgammon.

Question 24

How do I pause the timer during a game?

Accepted Answer

Tap the center control bar area containing the pause button. This will freeze both timers instantly and show the pause overlay until you tap resume.

Question 25

Can I set different starting times for each player (handicap)?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Knight Clock allows you to set asymmetric time setups. This is highly useful for training games or leveling the playing field between players of different skill ratings.

Question 26

What is chess clock etiquette regarding tapping the clock?

Accepted Answer

You must press the clock button with the same hand you used to move your chess piece. Slamming the clock or hovering your hand over the button is considered poor etiquette.

Question 27

Why is it important to use a digital clock over an analog flag clock?

Accepted Answer

Digital clocks support increments and delays, which are required for modern tournament compliance. They also display precise remaining seconds rather than general estimations.

Question 28

Does the app require specific security permissions?

Accepted Answer

Knight Clock values your privacy. It only requests permissions for device vibration (haptic feedback) and Wake Lock (preventing screen lock). It requires no contacts, files, or location access.

Question 29

What should I do if the clock button presses feel laggy?

Accepted Answer

Make sure you don't have intensive background apps running. Knight Clock is optimized for sub-millisecond touch responses, and disabling battery-saving throttling modes can help.

Question 30

Can a game result in a draw if a player runs out of time?

Accepted Answer

Yes, under FIDE rules, if you run out of time (flag), but your opponent has insufficient material to force a checkmate (e.g., only a king left), the game is declared a draw.

Question 31

Are multi-period time controls supported?

Accepted Answer

Knight Clock currently supports single-period time controls with base, delay, and increment settings. Multi-stage controls (e.g. add 30 minutes at move 40) will be added in future versions.

Question 32

Who is the developer of Knight Clock and how do I contact them?

Accepted Answer

Knight Clock is developed by IND Tech Mark. You can contact our developer support team directly by emailing support@indtechmark.com or using the Contact form on our site.

Frequently Asked Questions