As you may have already noticed, there have been some recent changes in the way the clocks operate in live games. These changes are designed to make the clock display more accurate and informative, and less confusing when dealing with lag and disconnection issues.
 
In normal operation you will see the opponent's time displayed in blue. This indicates that the value is the actual time remaining, exactly as the opponent sees it on his own screen. It should tick downward approximately once per second whenever it is the opponent's turn. The timing may vary slightly because of changing lag conditions, but the value will always be an accurate reflection of the time remaining for the opponent.
 
This is somewhat opposite of the previous system, in which the clock ticked down at precise 1 second intervals while the opponent was thinking but then was adjusted as needed after the opponent moved. The resulting "jump" was often confusing, especially near the end of a game when the clock had seemed to reach zero. The new system maintains an exact synchronization between the clocks on both computers, so no "jumps" are necessary.
 
If the opponent has lost his connection, his clock will appear gray instead of blue and will tick downward in 5-second intervals. This is to indicate that the value displayed is no longer exact but is instead being estimated by the server. When the opponent re-connects the time will be updated accordingly, and in this case you may still see slight "jumps". Note that this is currently the normal operating condition when playing against an opponent using the iPhone app; because of bandwidth limitations the iPhone does not maintain a continuous data stream so the server must estimate the clock value every few seconds.
 
Another new feature is called "disconnection protection." If a prolonged disconnection occurs, the time lost may be restored to the clock if the player is eligible for a protection. Each player is currently allocated two protections per calendar month. If a protection is available, then after re-connecting the clock will be reset to the value it had when the disconnection occurred. If all protections have been used, no time will be added back to the clock upon re-connection and the time remaining will reflect the total time elapsed since the last move.
 
Note that protections do not prevent time forfeits. If you have 10 seconds on your clock and are disconnected for say 60 seconds, the game will still be declared lost while you are disconnected. This is necessary because the server has no way of knowing when (or if) you will re-connect, so a zero clock is considered the cutoff point after which no restoration is possible.
 
We believe these changes will make the clock functionality more accurate, and hopefully more intuitive as well.

Thanks.
 
The new gray out clock feature is a welcome addition. It alerts me as to which side has lost connection.

Brian, could these changes have caused some unintended effects? I've had a ton of games go wrong during the past 3-4 days. As many as ten games in a row have ended after a few moves because of a bug.
 
Usually has to do with a player not seeing the opponent's move. Or not being able to move.

 
I will have to join in this question.
 
During the last three days I have had 7 out of the last 10 g-10 games were disconnects on the opponents side. I have never had that many disconnects in many years.
 
on a side note.
 
The three I did manage to play, jimmyjimjam, classic05750 and Maroon5, well, they beat me like a red headed step child.

Same here....I can't keep a live game going.

Due to reports of problems with the new clock system, we have temporarily rolled back the changes and restored the previous interface. Once the source of the problems has been found and corrected, we will again activate the new clock system.

I haven't played a live game here in probably a month or so.Every game was ending because of a connection problem

Thanks, Brian.

add me to the thanks list. everything seems ok now. I can't even imagine what goes on behind the scenes.
 

 Probably Not all that different, than among Any self-taught? software-personnel.

 
 

The problem has returned. I know some people aren't experiencing it, but in every game I play, after a few moves my opponent's move doesn't register (either on my board or in the Watch Games list).
 
I've just been resigning rather than have someone new to the site accuse me of somehow manipulating the program.
 
I'm using Windows 7 and Explorer 8, btw.

Can you please confirm that you are able to play against Caissa with no problems? And that when you play a human, your side seems to function normally but at some point the other player stops moving?
 
We're having a difficult time diagnosing this issue, in part because we're mostly getting reports from the players for whom everything seems to be working as intended, but whose opponents seem to crash constantly.
 
We've tested every kind of connection down to 28.8 modem speed and can't replicate any issues ourselves. Clearly the new system is causing problems for some players, but we haven't found the common element yet. Are there any regular opponents that you play often but now cannot complete a game with? If we can get some direct info from an affected player it may help a lot with finding the exact problem.

i am using safari on a mac 10.4.11, same problem

I am also having problems playing against humans. Playing Caissa everything is OK. When playing against human opponent after few moves opponent's clock stops and he writes that he could not see my move. Sometimes after refreshing on both sides everything gets back to order for the next few moves and then collapse again. Sometimes my move is reflected in the "watch game" tablet, sometimes not. Sometimes the game ends and the communication write I won the game due to time while the points are then assigned to my opponent. Practically since few days I cannot play against humans. Please do something about it or restore the old clock system like you did before, cause at least it enabled to play games against humans.

cannot play against even caissa, same problems continue

If, online-chess 'namebrand,' isn't that important to you; And assuming that it works well for you; Have you considered getting, your free, chess-related, live-game, 'Fix,' @: http://www.chesscube.com
 
Ps. You'll First need to 'register,' of course; If you haven't already.
Plus, my several months ago, serious reservations & criticisms, of
that site; Have since been, mostly rectified.. by "chesscube"!}. --

Was offline for a few days, so just now see your questions, Brian.
 
Playing Caissa seemed ok. Most of the scrubbed games were vs. Guests, but at least one was against a member I've had no problem playing in the past.
 
The problems began on 10/12.