Common time controls
“5 + 3” means 5 minutes each, with 3 seconds added after every move. “d5” means a 5-second delay. Tap one to load it.
| Control | What it means | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| 1 minute each, nothing added | Bullet | |
| 2 minutes each, plus 1 second added after every move | Bullet | |
| 3 minutes each, nothing added | Blitz | |
| 3 minutes each, plus 2 seconds added after every move | Blitz | |
| 5 minutes each, nothing added | Blitz | |
| 5 minutes each, plus 3 seconds added after every move | Blitz | |
| 10 minutes each, nothing added | Rapid | |
| 10 minutes each, plus 5 seconds added after every move | Rapid | |
| 15 minutes each, plus 10 seconds added after every move | Rapid | |
| 25 minutes each, plus 10 seconds added after every move | Classical | |
| 30 minutes each, and the clock waits 5 seconds before it counts down | Classical | |
| 60 minutes each, and the clock waits 5 seconds before it counts down | Classical | |
| 30 minutes each, plus 30 seconds added after every move | Classical | |
| 90 minutes each, plus 30 seconds added after every move | Classical | |
| 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 more, with 30 seconds added every move | Classical |
Increment, delay and Bronstein
All three stop a player losing on time in a position they’ve already won. They differ in what happens to the bonus a player doesn’t use. Here is one move with a 5-second bonus, taken quickly (3 seconds) and slowly (8 seconds):
| Bonus | 3-second move | 8-second move | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increment (Fischer) | +2 s | −3 s | 5 seconds added after every move, used or not |
| Bronstein | no change | −3 s | What the move took is given back, up to 5 seconds |
| Delay (US) | no change | −3 s | The clock waits 5 seconds before it starts counting |
| None (sudden death) | −3 s | −8 s | Every second comes off |
Increment can build up time: play fast and the clock grows. Bronstein and delay never let a clock end a move higher than it started. US Chess tournaments often use delay; FIDE and most online play use increment.
Bullet, blitz, rapid or classical?
Take the minutes each, and add forty times the bonus in seconds: the time a forty-move game takes each side. Under 3 minutes is bullet, under 8 is blitz, under 25 is rapid, and anything longer is classical. That's the estimate the big chess sites use, so “3 + 2” (3 minutes plus 80 seconds) is blitz, and “25 + 10” (25 minutes plus 400 seconds) is classical.
Keeping score
Playing a slower game? Print a chess score sheet to write the moves down. For a club night or a tournament, there's a round-robin crosstable and a round-robin spreadsheet that does the pairings and scores for you.
Record the game too
This is the clock from Chess Clock & Scorepad, our free app. The app also keeps score: make each move on a board and the clock presses itself, then review the game or share it as PGN. It works offline, in 12 languages.
Free sheets for over-the-board games: