KAISSA
Kaissa is a talking digital chess clock designed specifically for vision impaired chess players. This guide provides detailed explanations of all of the clocks features. Full BCA members resident in the UK can purchase one of these clocks at a discount directly from the BCA.
CONTENTS
SECTION 1: OVERVIEW
1.1 MANUFACTURER
Fundosa Accesibilidad
SA,
Carrer Del Corral 2,
08014 Barcelona
Spain.
TEL: + 34 93 491 38 39
www.vialibre.es
Email:jcbravo@consultoria.ilunion.com
1.2 ORIENTATION
Throughout this guide it is assumed that you have the screen and buttons facing you. Player 1 uses the left side of the clock near (buttons A and B) and player 2 uses the right side (buttons E and F). Button C accesses programming features and button D starts and stops the clock.
1.2.1 Power switch
The power switch is located underneath the clock in a small recess towards the front. Push the switch towards the back to power on and pull to the front to power off.
Remember, pull close to close and push away to wake up!
When the clock is on the buttons should beep but this feature can be disabled so the only way to be certain is to use headphones to listen for output (see the following section).
When the clock is turned on it will be reset to the start of the playing mode which was last in use. When adjourning a game, remember to make a note of the time before powering off as KAISA will not retain it.
1.2.2 Headphones
The headphone sockets are located at either end of the unit. With the buttons facing towards you player 1’s socket is on the left end, close to button A, and player 2’s socket is at the right end, closest to button B.
The device comes with two earpieces, one for each player. If you should need to replace the headphones you will need to purchase mono earpieces. You can use stereo headphones if you have no alternative but you will only hear sound through one earpiece.
During play, messages can only be spoken through one earpiece at a time. If both players push buttons together one player may not hear anything. Players must be patient and give each other time to operate the clock.
Announcements for player 1 cannot be heard by player 2 and vice versa.
When programming the clock, announcements will only be made through player 1’s earpiece.
1.2.3 BATTERIES
Kaissa requires 4 AA batteries. The battery compartment is located on the underside of the unit. You open the compartment by removing the small Phillips head screw located in the middle of the base. The plate which covers the battery compartment will then come free. Insert the batteries and then replace the plate and screw.
To check the status of the batteries follow the instructions towards the end of this guide.
WARNING! Use only 1.5V AA Batteries.
WARNING! Do not leave the batteries in the device for long periods of inactivity.
WARNING!Intended for indoor use only.
1.3 ADJUSTING THE CLOCK
It is not possible to adjust any settings while the clock is running.
To stop the clock during game play, hold D for 2 seconds. Alternatively, turn the clock off and back on again, however this will reset the clock to the start of the playing mode.
There are seven groups of settings that can be adjusted. These are as follows:
Each group is activated by holding C until an announcement is made. It usually takes about two seconds for the next group to appear. To reach the programming mode, do the following:
SECTION 2: TIME CONTROLS
2.1 TERMINOLOGY
A time control specifies how much time players have in which to make their moves. A playing mode in Kaissa has up to three time controls meaning that a game can have three separate rates of play.
The following terms are used throughout this guide and by the clock.
2.2 SHORT-HAND NOTATION FOR TIME CONTROLS
The following short-hand notation is common when describing time controls and will be used throughout this guide.
MOVES/TIME+BONUS
For example:
30 moves in 60 minutes is written as 30/60.
90 minutes with a 30 second increment is written as 90+30.
All moves in 120 minutes is written as 120.
36 moves in 90 minutes with a 15 second increment is written as 36/90+15.
It is common to have games with two or three different rates of play. Games with overtime or a Quick Play Finish will typically have a slow rate of play for the majority of the game followed by a short period of rapid play. A common example is 30 moves in 75 minutes (30/75) with 15 minutes for all remaining moves (15).
2.3 CHOOSING A PLAYING MODE
There are 16 available playing modes. Modes 0-8 are fixed and cannot be edited. Modes 9-15 are fully customisable.
A playing mode can have up to 3 separate time controls. The table below briefly summarises the fixed playing modes. Not all playing modes have three time controls, in these cases the cell in the table is left empty.
|
MODE |
TIME
CONTROL 1 |
TIME
CONTROL 2 |
TIME
CONTROL 3 |
|
0 |
90+30 |
||
|
1 |
90+30 |
60+30 |
|
|
2 |
120 |
60 |
30 |
|
3 |
90+30 |
15+30 |
|
|
4 |
100+30 |
30+30 |
|
|
5 |
120 |
60 |
15+30 |
|
6 |
40/120 |
20/60 |
30 |
|
7 |
40/120 |
20/60 |
30+30 |
|
8 |
40/90+30 |
30+30 |
To choose a playing mode do the following:
The topics in the rest of section 1 give a brief overview of time controls and playing a game. Section 2 gives a detailed explanation of all features and how they relate to each other.
SECTION 3: PLAYING A GAME
When the clock is turned on it will be ready for a game to start. The last used playing mode will still be in effect but the clocks will be reset to their start times.
To start a game do the following:
During game play the buttons announce the time as follows:
SECTION 4: DETAILED REFERENCE
4.1 QUICK ADJUSTMENTS TO THE CLOCKS
The section on setting up a playing mode explains how to set up the time controls before play begins. This section explains how to adjust one clock independently.
There are several reasons why this might need to be done.
To adjust the clocks with this feature do the following:
4.2 CHANGING THE MOVE COUNTER DURING PLAY
The number of moves for a time control should be set as part of the playing mode, however, it may be necessary to adjust the move counter during play in the event of a dispute.
To adjust the move counter during play do the following:
4.3 SETTING UP A PLAYING MODE
When setting up a custom playing mode the following parameters are available:
IMPORTANT: In this section you must use the lever to switch between different sets of options. With the lever to the left you can set the playing mode, time control, bonus and bonus seconds. With the lever to the right you can set the time limit and move requirements.
Throughout this section, the following applies:
A selects the digit to the left but stops at the left edge of the display.
B selects the digit to the right but jumps from the right most digit to the left most digit.
E decreases the digit by one Button
F increases the digit by one.
Adjusting a digit which is part of a parameter with more than one digit will sometimes cause the other digits to change as well (e.g. adjusting the minutes digit in the game time may cause the hours, hour and minute digits to change as well).
4.3.1 PLAYING MODE
The clock can hold sixteen different playing modes (numbered 0 to 15). Modes 0-8 cannot be edited. To select a playing mode do the following:
4.3.2 Time control
The time control refers to an individual phase of the game. There are three time controls in each playing mode.
To select a time control, do the following:
Select a playing mode as described in the previous section.
press B once to select the time control parameter.
Use E and F to choose the time control.
There are only three options. The entire time control is described when it is selected. This also happens if pressing E when 1 is chosen or F when 3 is chosen. This is a useful feature because the clock will not automatically announce parameter values when you select them.
To quickly explore an entire playing mode, do the following:
Select the playing mode.
Press B until "time control" is spoken.
Press E once and listen to the entire message.
Press F once to select time control 2 and listen to the entire message.
Press F again to select time control 3 and listen to the entire message.
NB: if only one time control is needed the time limits on the other time controls must be set to 00:00. See game time below for details.
4.3.3 BONUS MODE
An increment is additional time given for every move. The bonus can be given at the start of the move (pre-increment) or at the end of the move (post-increment).
POST INCREMENT: Choosing bonus mode 0 or 2 will have the increment added to a players clock after it is pressed. Both clocks begin showing the time limit for the control. After pressing start, White's clock starts counting down. When White's clock is pressed the increment is added, the clock stops and Black's clock starts.
PRE-INCREMENT: Choosing bonus mode 1 or 3 will have the increment added before a players clock starts counting. This is most common in FIDE and US events. Both clocks begin showing the time limit for the control. When D is pressed the increment is immediately added to White's clock which starts counting down from the new time. When White's clock is pressed it will stop and the increment is added to Black's clock which starts counting from the new time.
When bonus mode 0 or 1 is chosen, the time for the next time control will only be added when one of the clocks reaches zero.
When bonus mode 2 or 3 is chosen, the time is added once both players have made the required number of moves.
To change the bonus mode do the following:
Choose the time control as described in the previous section.
Press B once to select the bonus mode parameter.
Use E and F to choose the bonus mode you wish to use.
Options are as follows:
4.3.4 BONUS TIME
This sets how much time is added for each move. To play without an increment, set this parameter to zero seconds.
If two time controls have a different bonus time, the second increment will only apply after the second time control starts. This means that if you want the new bonus to apply as soon as the required number of moves are played, you must choose bonus 2 or 3 as described in the previous section.
To adjust the bonus time do the following:
Choose a time control as described above.
Choose the bonus mode as described above.
Press B to select the seconds digit of the bonus time parameter.
. Use E and F to set the seconds digit.
Press B to select the single seconds digit.
Use E and F to set the seconds digit.
Hold D for 2 seconds if the rest of the playing mode is correctly configured.
4.3.5 GAME TIME
For time control 1 the game time is the initial time on the clock. In time controls 2 and 3 it is the time which will be added once that phase is triggered.
NB: the bonus mode will affect how time is added to the clocks so be sure to read the previous two sections carefully to understand how increments and multiple rates of play are handled.
To adjust the game time do the following:
Choose the playing and time control as described above.
Press the lever to the right. This will always select the tens of hours digit.
Use A and B to select the digits on the clock.
Use E and F to decrease and increase the selected digit. (Remember that changing one digit may affect other digits.)
Hold D for 2 seconds if the rest of the playing mode is correctly configured.
4.3.6 MOVES
The moves parameter sets the number of moves which have to be played before the next time control is activated.
Note that if the bonus mode is set to 0 or 1 the clock will show the number of moves remaining in the time control but will only start the next time control when the time reaches zero, effectively ignoring the move counter.
IMPORTANT: The moves will not be spoken allowed during play unless the sounds parameter is set to sounds and moves (see below).
Caution: sighted players often press their own clock after moving a vision impaired players piece for them. For this reason you should be careful about relying on the clocks move counter instead of keeping your own track of the moves.
To set the number of moves do the following:
Choose a playing mode and time control as described above.
If necessary, set the bonus mode and bonus time as described above.
Press the lever to the right and then press B until "moves" is spoken.
The tens of moves digit is selected and has a maximum value of 5.
Use E and F to set the digit.
Press B once to select the single moves digit.
Use E and F to set this digit. Remember that switching from 9 to 0 or vice versa will change the tens of moves digit as well.
Press D if the rest of the playing mode is correctly configured.
4.4 SOUNDS AND MOVE COUNTER
This parameter has three options:
Sounds off - the clock will not beep and the move counter is not announced when checking time during play.
Sounds on - the clock beeps when buttons are pressed but the move counter is not announced when checking the time during play.
Sounds on – the clock beeps when buttons are pressed and the move counter is announced when checking the time during play.
4.5 LANGUAGE
The language spoken to each player can be changed independently.
Only the player listening through player 1's earpiece can hear the change before committing to it, even if it is the language setting for player 2.
There are four languages available. When changing the setting the language will be announced in the relevant tongue. The options are español (Spanish), English, Russkiy (Russian), and Français (French).
To change the language do the following:
4.6 VOLUME
The volume through the earpieces for player 1 and 2 can be adjusted independently but only the person listening through player 1's earpiece can hear the change before committing it, even if the setting is for player 2.
To change the volume do the following:
4.7 BATTERY STATUS
To check the status of the battery do the following: