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Canadian Overtime
    Keywords: Rules, Tournament

Canadian overtime is a form of overtime commonly used in Western tournaments and on Go servers.

An overtime period has two main properties: the time and the number of stones to play. The overtime time starts to run as soon as the main time runs out. The player is said to be "in overtime" and must then play all the overtime stones before the overtime time runs out. An example would be 25 stones within 5 minutes, an average of one stone every 12 seconds.

If the player succeeds, a new overtime period starts, and there is another set of overtime stones to play. Only if the player does not manage to play all the overtime stones within an overtime period does the player lose on time.

On the Go servers, it is common to have a very short main time (1 minute, say) followed by a relatively short overtime, 5 minutes, say. "Anyone for a 1/5 game?". This leads to a game with a brisk and steady pace (or a manic pace, depending on your point of view). A 200 move game played as 1/5 with 25 overtime stones will never last more than 42 minutes.


Dansc: Canadian overtime is often used in face-to-face games when the game clock is analogue and cannot count japanese byo-yomi. The player in overtime takes the necessary stones out of the bowl and the clock is set to the period limit. Then you have to play the stones you took before the time is up, after which you start over again.

uxs: What happens when you have played the mandatory amount of stones, and you still have some time left? Does the new period start right away? Do you have some free moves while the remaining time counts away? Does the remaining time get added to the next period?

Fwiffo: The new period and set of stones starts right away. The clock is reset, so any time remaining from the completed period is not available.

uxs: That's stupid. I am now never going to move faster than I have to, just because it's stupid. Thanks for the answer though.

Andrew Grant: It certainly is stupid, but that's how it's done on the servers and in most tournaments. In the Milton Keynes tournament in the UK, which I organise, you get to play extra stones while your time lasts and the next overtime period only starts when your time runs out. You will find this method described on the [ext] BGA website (along with a spurious rationale for using the "immediate loss of time" system instead).

Robert Pauli: Sometimes being fast is better, uxs.
There was an obvious move to do, but it would have started a new period. Still some time to spend, the player decided to work out the best yose sequence. Finally he played the first move in this sequence - skipping the obvious move and trashing it all.

Confused: With Canadian overtime, uxs, you can decide a little on what moves to spend your time. With Japanese byo-yomi you just have a limited amount of time per move. If after playing nearly all stones in Canadian overtime you have time left, you can use it count, read more etc. If the situation is so clear that you don't need the time, that's fine too. It makes the game quicker. All in all, the Canadian system strikes a quite good balance between a short game and still giving you enough time to spend on difficult situations.



This is a copy of the living page "Canadian Overtime" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2004 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.