03-03-2006 chess
From Malaysia Encyclopedia
Court clocks
CHESS by QUAH SENG SUN
I WAS thinking of something more mundane to write about this week but an unusual piece of news came off the Internet on Monday that made me abandon my initial plans. It is about the two-faced chess clock: a piece of chess equipment that is so central to a game of chess. Chess clocks practically control the fate of a chess game.
Apart from the obvious win, draw or loss in a chess game which depends on how well you play your game, victories and defeats have also been registered by the drop of the tiny red flag on a traditional chess clock. Nowadays, the more sophisticated digital chess clocks have become the norm in chess praxis.
Chess clocks started becoming a familiar sight in this country in the early 1970s. And later, local Chinese chess tournaments started using them too. Today, even Scrabble games are being regulated by chess clocks.
On Monday, I was amused to learn that this piece of chess equipment may have found a new use in, of all places, a court of justice in the United States.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the chess clock will be adapted for use in a trial between Merck & Co and two men suing the company, in an effort to keep the trial short.
Merck & Co is the manufacturer of the Vioxx drug for arthritis which was recalled from the market in 2004 after being linked to heart attacks and strokes.
Merck & Co is facing almost 10,000 suits filed against the company by former Vioxx users. With the company vowing to fight each and every one of them, the American courts are looking at ways to limit the hearings without sacrificing on justice.
Hence, the chess clock. When the trial begins on Monday, lawyers for the plaintiffs will have 40 hours to argue their case while the lawyers for Merck & Co will get 35 hours. An apparent uneven distribution of time but both sides, it seems, had agreed on these time limits on testimony by witnesses.
Last year, a different Vioxx trial took seven weeks to complete. After the trial, the court judge asked lawyers for ideas on limiting the time for future trials and one of them, a chess enthusiast, brought chess clocks to the courtroom to demonstrate their use.
With lawyers given a set time to present their cases, it will be interesting to see the outcome when one side or the other runs short of time to complete their cases. Will the court judge extend the time for the lawyers or will he allow the time to run out and declare the testimonies over because of a loss on time?
If the usage of the chess clock is successful in this particular instance, the practice may be adopted by many more law courts around the world.
Quah Seng Sun can be contacted at ssquah@gmail.com. Join Malaysia’s biggest chess mailing list by registering yourself at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chess-malaysia.
UP NEXT
THE month is crammed with a flurry of chess activities around the country. Apart from the events below, other activities include the Penang Chinese Girls’ High School open on March 19, the Temerloh open on March 25 and 26, the annual general meeting of the Perak International Chess Association and the Perak YMCA open on March 26, and the start of the Majlis Sukan Negeri Pulau Pinang chess tournament on March 28.
9th Residential College open
The Universiti Malaya Ninth Residential College will hold a one-day open team event tomorrow for the Tun Syed Zahiruddin Cup. Inquiries: Ng Ching Siang (017-2809 459) or Noor Liza (017-4098 747).
UiTM Johor open
The Universiti Teknologi Mara in Johor will hold a one-day open event tomorrow at the campus. Inquiries: Halim Shuhaimi Yeop Johari (012-7683 352 / e-mail: hash@johor.uitm.edu.my), Rabani (017-7057 381), Azim (012-6851 945) or Budi (019-7428 076).
Selangor closed
The Chess Association of Selangor will organise a one-day Selangor closed tournament at the Sunway University College on Sunday. The Category One event is for players with a national rating of at least 1400 points and unrated adults, while the Category Two event is for those with a national rating of less than 1400 and also unrated under-18 players. A maximum of 100 players will be accepted. To register, e-mail selangorchess@gmail.com, stating your name and category.
Negri closed
The Negri Sembilan Chess Association (New) will organise the NS closed tournament at the Plaza Ampangan in Seremban this Sunday. Winners will receive cash prizes, trophies and certificates.
National closed
The Malaysian Chess Federation will organise the National closed championship at Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur during March 11-15. Details: Ibrahim Bakar (012-3716 289 / 03-5519 8451) or Hamid Majid (019-3158 098 / fax: 03-4024 4337 / e-mail: aham@pc.jaring.my).
PFS open
Penang Free School will hold the PFS open tournament at the school hall on March 12. To register, contact Tan Win Son (016-4538 027 / e-mail: frebe89@yahoo.com), Victor Hong (016-4777 912) or Khor Bean Hwa (016-4281 096 / e-mail: beanhwak@yahoo.co.uk).
National age-group
The Malaysian Chess Federation will hold this year’s national age-group championship at the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s indoor sports arena in Kuala Lumpur from March 16-17. Details: Gregory Lau (012-9020 123 / e-mail: all4chess@hotmail.com) or Hamid Majid (e-mail: aham@pc.jaring.my / fax: 03-4024 4337).
Klang Parade open
There will be a Klang Parade age-group tournament for under-12 and under-18 players on March 18 and the Klang Parade open tournament on March 19. Both events will be held at the concourse of the shopping centre.
Details: Angie (03-3343 7889 / fax: 03-3343 7313) or Gregory (012-9020 123).
