Time Control In Chess

The term “time control” can be confusing to young chess players, particularly beginners who are just learning how to play the game. Here is what is important to know:

• What Is Time Control In Chess?
• What Happens When I Run Out Of Time In Chess?
• Understanding Time Controls
• Time Controls On ChessKid
• Other Time Controls
• Wrapping Up

What Is Time Control In Chess?

In chess, time control refers to how much time a player has to complete a game. A time control can be simple or complex. Time controls on ChessKid are simple and are typically expressed in only minutes. If a control has a delay or an increment, it is more complex.

For games played over the board in a tournament with a time control, a chess clock measures the time for both players. Before a game begins, the clock is set for the official control of the tournament. 

On ChessKid, you choose the time control you want to play before you are matched with another kid for a game. When you play on ChessKid, you don't need to worry about hitting your clock. The website stops your countdown and starts your opponent's automatically as soon as you make a move.

 

What Happens When I Run Out Of Time In Chess?

When a player runs out of time in an over-the-board game, the chess clock indicates that the player is out of time. In online games, the server provides the same function. Because older chess clocks have a small flag that falls when a player is out of time, the expression “to flag” means to lose on time.

When a player runs out of time, they no longer can win the game but they may not automatically lose. If the opponent does not have sufficient material to force a checkmate, the game ends in a draw. If the opponent does have sufficient material, they win.

Understanding Time Controls

Time controls are expressed in an X|Y format: X, or the first number, gives the number of minutes for a game; Y, or the second number, gives the number of seconds for each increment. An increment is the time that is added to a player’s time for each move made. (Sometimes the format is X+Y.)

For example, a 3|2 time control indicates that each player receives three minutes at the start of the game and two seconds are added after each move to a player’s time. In contrast, a 10|0 time control indicates that each player receives 10 minutes at the start of the game and no additional time after a move is made. Sometimes the letter “G” (standing for game) is added before the game minutes, such as G10.

Time Controls On ChessKid

On ChessKid, you can choose from three time controls for fast games: five, 10, or 15 minutes. Because a class or a club can all play together simultaneously as a group in a live event, particularly for a tournament, fast chess is very popular on ChessKid. To learn how to host fast tournaments on ChessKid, read FunMasterMike’s advice here.

Slow games on ChessKid are not played live in real time like fast games. They are played over days (or even weeks), and each move is submitted on the ChessKid site when a player is ready to make it. Because players have several days to make a move, they often play more than one game at a time. (Slow games are often known as daily chess.)

To learn how to pick the time control on ChessKid, read this article.

When ChessKid Stars play well-known opponents such as streamers, the time control often includes an increment, such as one second. Read here about how ChessKid Stars recently beat famous streamers in a match with a time control of 5+1. To see how fast their games were, watch this video.

The format of the match was G5+1. (FunMasterMike and GM Jesse Kraai provided commentary during the broadcast.)

In addition, when ChessKid hosts the top youth chess players from around the world for its annual Youth Speed Chess Championship, participants play a series of blitz chess matches. Each match is two hours long. Games played in the first 75 minutes use a time control of 5+1, and the control for games in the final 45 minutes is 3+1.

These top youth chess players participated in the 2022 Youth Speed Chess Championship.

An even faster time control is used for the ChessKid Worldwide Bullet Championship. In 2023, it was 1+1. Read about the tournament here. 

Other Time Controls

For over-the-board games played in rated tournaments, the time controls are usually much longer. A classical time control is 40 moves in two hours; this control often includes a sudden-death component, which is an amount of time (such as 60 minutes) to complete the game regardless of the number of moves made. A common control for scholastic tournaments is G30 or "game in 30 minutes." 

When over-the-board games use a chess clock, the time control includes a delay rather than an increment, which add time to the clock, although both are usually expressed in a number of seconds. When a delay is part of a time control, a player’s clock does not begin counting down immediately when the opponent completes a move. Instead, the clock begins only after the amount of the delay. If a player uses less time than the delay for a move, no time is subtracted from their clock.

When a tournament includes several time controls in one match, they can be very complex, such as this example for a world chess championship conducted by FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

In this event, the time control is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 more minutes for the rest of the game. Starting on move 61, a 30-second increment is added for each move. If the players are tied after they have played all the classical games scheduled, a rapid playoff with a 25+10 time control begins. After these games if the players are still tied, they have another playoff with a 5+3 time control. If the players are still tied after the 5+3 games, they play even faster. The final control is 3+2 and is used for the remaining games until there is a winner.

Wrapping Up

Now you know about time control in chess. Determine which control you like the best, although you should experiment with several to develop your chess skills. If you want to improve how you play fast chess, learn from FunMasterMike in this video. 

Do you know that you can play a fast game against a challenging opponent on ChessKid? Read this article to learn how to play against ChessKid masters such as the BrewMaster every week.