The first number is each player's base time in minutes, the second is the increment in seconds after every move. This is a Fischer increment: the seconds are added even if the move is instant, and they accumulate.
There is also classical with two periods: 90 minutes for 40 moves, then another 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds per move from move one. It is written as "90/40 + 30 + 30s". This control is used at large tournaments. All the kinds of control and how they are written - chess time controls.
The maximum length is easy to work out: both players use all their base time and all the increment. That is 2 × (90 minutes + 30 seconds × number of moves):
| Game length | If both use all their time |
|---|---|
| 30 moves | up to 3 hours 30 minutes |
| 40 moves | up to 3 hours 40 minutes |
| 60 moves | up to 4 hours |
| 80 moves | up to 4 hours 20 minutes |
That is the upper limit: many games finish earlier because players do not use all their time. But 4-4.5 hours are allowed per round: the last game of a round often goes to the very end, and the next round waits for it.
The main rule of classical chess: each player records their own moves and their opponent's (Article 8.1.1). In blitz and rapid there is no notation, in classical it is an obligation.
Moves are written on the tournament's paper scoresheet in algebraic notation or on a FIDE-certified electronic scoresheet.
Classical games used to be adjourned: a player wrote a "sealed move" in an envelope, and the game was finished the next day. The procedure is still described in the FIDE Laws (Guidelines I), but in practice it is no longer used: overnight computer analysis made adjourning pointless, and the increment lets a game be finished in one day.
A different matter is postponing a gameto another time for a valid reason. That is not a FIDE rule but a condition of the regulations: whether postponement is allowed, who decides and up to which round. Postponements are most often allowed in round robins, where pairings are known in advance. In a Swiss tournament a postponement is almost impossible: the next round's pairings depend on the result.
| Format | Round start | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| One round a day | starting at 15:00 or 16:00 | the calmest format; 9 rounds - 9 days |
| Two rounds a day | 10:00 and 16:00 | less than two hours for lunch and rest between rounds if the first game ran long |
| Weekend tournament | Saturday and Sunday, 2 rounds each + Friday evening | 5 rounds in three days - a popular format for working people |
How many rounds you need for your number of players - how many rounds in a Swiss system. If the tournament is rated - check the time control requirements: FIDE requirements for tournaments.
What the app gives a classical tournament:
Up to 3 hours 40 minutes with 40 moves and up to 4 hours with 60 moves, if both players use all their time. 4-4.5 hours are allowed per round.
Yes. The exemption from recording with less than five minutes applies only if the increment is under 30 seconds. At 90+30 moves are recorded to the end of the game.
No. The move on the board first, then the record. The exception is a draw claim by repetition or the 50-move rule.
Almost never. The procedure remains in the FIDE Laws, but with an increment games are finished the same day.
Only if the tournament regulations allow it. Postponements are most often allowed in round robins.
Yes, the app's clock has a ready 90+30 control, as well as 60+0 and 120+30. There is no two-period control yet.
There are no club or arbiter roles in the app: the create button is available to everyone. You can announce a tournament today and run it this weekend.
The bot is constantly improved based on real tournaments. If you need a feature that isn't there yet, message the developers right inside the bot with the /support command. Many features appeared exactly because organizers asked for them, and useful ideas get added quickly.
More about the rules: chess time controls, rapid chess rules, a fallen flag in chess and an illegal move in chess.
At the board since childhood: hazy about his rating, precise about every rook he has blundered. Counts an evening as a good one if the opponent stayed to talk afterwards instead of rushing off to check with an engine. Message →
