Customer Reviews

Saitek Mephisto Competition Chess Clock

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My friends and I get into some pretty heated chess games, with weighted pieces -- and there's little more satisfying (at the chessboard, at least) than smashing your clock button with one of your opponent's major pieces. We do this quite a bit. Sad, isn't it?

Nevertheless, the clock's a trooper; and is probably the most solidly-built chess clock I've ever seen. Operationally, it has several options that are simple to navigate and set, rubber stoppers on the bottom that keep it from sliding on the table, and even small disco lights on the toggle button to indicate whose turn it is.

Delivery was quick and painless, even to an overseas address.

If I had to dig for a complaint, though, it would be in the settings. Holding the clock's LCD face up to the light at an angle shows that there is an LCD element that reads "Fischer" -- though the clock itself has no Fischer (adding time after a move) option.

Lastly (and this is minor), the clock uses a "C" battery vice the usual "AA."

After trying several other timers, this has become the timer of choice for our high school's chess club. The convenience of digital timing over analog is the first plus. The quality of construction is the second, as they have endured two years of high school and middle school competitions. And finally, the ease of use combined with the functionality make this timer a winner.

Edit: May 18, 2011 - All of the timers we purchased for the chess club are still working great. Not one failure in over 4 years of use now.

I went looking for a lowest price chess clock I could find, having the opinion that most chess clocks were way overpriced. I decided on this one over mechanical clocks to avoid the annoying tick tock those models can make, especially the cheaper ones. At first I was dismayed by the battery it uses, a more expensive C battery instead of the more common AA/AAA batteries, but as soon as I started using it I loved this clock. Its sturdy, with a wide base so slapping the buttons won't knock it over. Programming the clock is not intuitive, it took me some tinkering before I figured out how to adjust times and get the fisher clock setting. There are also instructions for those who can't figure it out. A green light indicates whose turn it is, a red light indicates who ran out of time. There is also a buzzer, you can toggle these on or off, or choose both.

Giving this Timer anything less than five stars is unfair!!!

WEIGHT is good before adding batteries and perfect afterwords.
Using this timer is a snap once you get used to the fact you are adjusting a six digit time with a four digit display .
There are several preset functions to this timer allowing you just about as many combinations for timing as there are moves on a chess board.

Function 3C allows you to set the time per move for each player. It is preset to a blazing 5sec per move. When changing the time per move you have to change both players separately. This feature allows one player to be handicapped additional time if necessary. We set our clock to five mins per move in 3C.

Being new to the game I wanted to find out more about timing and rules of chess. WOW there are so many to choose from. All my research concluded that the most important thing is to agree to the rules and timing before the game starts.

Buy this timer, it is thrifty, durable, and with proper care should last a lifetime.
My only regret is that there is no sound only alarm function. (If they had this I'd use it daily in my kitchen.)

LASTLY: Lock your settings after you get the clock the way you want it.

I bought using this blue-wedge Saitek Mephisto Competition Chess Clock over a year ago as a time-management tool, not as a chess clock. Left button down means I'm working "on-task"; right button down means everything else--lunch, a motivational seminar, or time spent talking about or hearing about someone's cat/vacation/medical procedure/hopes and dreams/iPod/spouse/diet. I'm running in 8-hour countdown timer mode because I couldn't find a mode that would just count up without a limit. No big deal.

Buttons are large, solid and make a satisfying click-clunk, even if you press off-center. This tactile and aural feedback is a throwback to another era. The slider switch on the bottom allows you to suppress the "your-move" beep and the button light separately, so I can use it at work in silent-but-lit mode. Good weight and a decent angle on the display.

The manual is intimidating without being ambiguous, incomplete, error-filled or unreadable. The clock is substantial, science-lab attractive. I ran it Monday-Friday for 8-12 hours a day for two months (pressing buttons at least six or seven times a day) without any sense that I was wearing in or wearing out the mechanism. When I do get around to playing chess with it, I am confident that it will still work. Would buy again.

Batteries not included, it needs 2 C alkaline.

It is very stable on the table, but not easy to carry.

It has a lot of settings, but not easy to understand and manual does not explain well.
I need more time to study manual to do the settings.
For now, i use only 15 mins setting.
I tried to do custom 10 mins and get mess up everything.

It will be better if power on/off button is in separate button and on the side.
Now, it is on the bottom and together with others setting to i have to hold up side down every time to turn on/off.

I have another product from Saitek and both work well.

We ordered the clock for my grandson (7.5 years old) and he
thinks that this is the perfect clock for him.
He uses it for his many chess tournament competitions
together with the tournament chess set we bought him.
The delivery was fast and the clock arrived in good condition.

This "toy" really is useful for the serious chess player who's into speed chess, or for the chess player who just wants to know how long a game really takes. The instructions are a bit fuzzy, but a little experimentation and a few re-reads of the pamphlet finally got me started. It took about thirty minutes to figure out the controls to make it work.

Easy menus. Many options. Good quick shutoff. Heavy, has a quality feel to the device. The buttons light up, which is a cool.

This chess clock is adequate for playing blitz and other timed chess matches. The illuminated large digital readout is easy to see and the clock is rugged. Although we have only had it for about a month, battery life appears adequate. All in all, a quite competent chess clock and a good value for its cost.