Online Chess Clock

How to use this chess clock

1. Pick a time control. 5+0 means 5 minutes each and no increment. 3+2 means 3 minutes each plus 2 seconds after every move.
2. Press Start clock and lay the phone flat beside the board. The top half is upside down so the player across the table can read it.
3. The player with Black taps their half. That starts White's clock.
4. After each move, tap your own half. Your clock stops and your opponent's starts.
5. Pause stops both clocks. Reset starts the same time control again from zero moves.

On a computer, Space ends the turn of the side whose clock is running and Escape pauses.

What the screen shows

Increment and delay

Most time controls add a little time per move so a game cannot be lost only on speed. There are three ways to do it, and this clock supports all three.

Fischer increment

A fixed number of seconds is added to your clock after every move you make. In 3+2 you start with 3:00, and a move that takes 5 seconds leaves you with 2:57. Your time can grow above where it started. Online chess and most FIDE events use it.

Simple delay (US delay)

Your clock waits a few seconds before it starts counting down on each move. Move inside the delay and you lose no time, but unused delay is not saved. US Chess events write it as d5, for example G/90;d5.

Bronstein delay

After your move you get back the time you used, up to the delay. The result is the same as simple delay, but the display counts down from the start of the move. Your time never grows above what you had when the move began.

Common time controls

A time control is written as minutes per player plus seconds per move. Sites and federations sort them into four speeds.

Lichess measures a control as the base time plus 40 times the increment. FIDE uses the base time plus 60 times the increment, per player. That is why 30+0 is classical on lichess and rapid under FIDE rules.

No board or opponent to hand? Play a 10+0 rapid game online against one of the sparring partners, on a real clock.

Chess clock rules over the board

• Make your move, then press the clock with the same hand you moved with.
• Do not keep your hand on the clock or hover over it while your opponent thinks.
• If your time runs out you lose. It is a draw instead if your opponent cannot checkmate you by any series of legal moves, for example when they have only a king left.
• Under FIDE rules White's clock starts when the game begins, which is what the first tap here does.

Played a game you want to understand? Import it for a free engine review.

Chess clock FAQ