What makes a game rapid or blitz?
Calculate before naming the format
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| Control per player | Starting time + 60 increments | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| 3 minutes + 2 seconds | 3 + 2 = 5 minutes | Blitz |
| 10 minutes + 0 seconds | 10 minutes | Blitz, including the boundary |
| 10 minutes + 5 seconds | 10 + 5 = 15 minutes | Rapid |
| 15 minutes + 10 seconds | 15 + 10 = 25 minutes | Rapid |
| 60 minutes + 0 seconds | 60 minutes | Outside rapid/blitz; use the main competition rules |
The formula is a classification convention, not a promise that the game lasts 60 moves. Appendices A.1 and B.1 do not themselves define all minimum time controls for standard-rated events.
Compare the rule regimes
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| Rule | Standard / main competition rules | Rapid | Blitz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recording | Article 8, with the 8.4 time-trouble exception | A.2 exempts players; claims remain available | B.2 uses Competitive Rules; B.3 imports A.2 |
| Sufficient supervision | Main rules apply | A.4: at most three games per arbiter and each game recorded | B.2: one game per arbiter and each game recorded |
| Otherwise | Follow applicable event rules | A.5 procedures | B.3 imports A.2, A.3 and A.5 |
| First completed illegal move | Opponent receives two minutes | One minute under A.3 | B.2: two minutes; B.3: one minute |
| Second by the same player | Loss, unless opponent cannot possibly mate | Same loss/draw condition | Same loss/draw condition |
| Flag fall | Observation by arbiter or valid claim | A.5.5 also requires an observed flag fall to be called | B.3 imports A.5; B.2 uses main rules |
Under A.4/B.2, the player to move may ask to see the arbiter’s record at most five times during the game. Further requests are treated as a distraction.
The clock label does not tell you who can intervene
“One arbiter for three games” in A.4 means at most three simultaneous games, each also recorded by the arbiter or an assistant and, if possible, electronically. In blitz, B.2 instead requires one arbiter for one game with recording. An electronic board alone does not satisfy the staffing condition.
A player entering a 3+2 event therefore needs two answers: it is blitz because three minutes plus 60 × two seconds equals five minutes; and the announced B.2 or B.3 regime determines the relevant supervision and handling rules. A.6/B.4 require the event regulations to identify the regime for the whole event.
If those conditions are unfamiliar, ask before the first round. During an incident under A.5/B.3, do not make a reply merely to keep the game moving and only then ask for correction: the timing of that reply matters.
The A.5 claim window
If the arbiter sees a listed completed illegal move, intervention under 7.5.5 must occur before the opponent makes the next move. The opponent has the same deadline to claim. If neither acts, the illegal move stands. After the reply, correction requires the players’ agreement without arbiter intervention. This rule also applies through B.3.
After each player has completed 10 moves, A.5.1 prevents claims about initial setup or board orientation and restricts clock-setting changes, with the stated scheduling exception. An incorrectly placed King or Rook cannot be used for the affected castling.
If the arbiter sees both Kings in check or an unpromoted pawn on the last rank, A.5.4 says to wait until the next move is completed and draw the game if the illegal position remains. Do not replace this specific procedure with an improvised result.
Recording and proving a claim
Under A.2, not recording does not remove the rights to claims normally based on a scoresheet. A player can ask the arbiter for a scoresheet to write moves. This is not a guarantee that an unsupported repetition claim will be accepted: the necessary facts must still be established.
For main-rule recording, Article 8.4 applies only when the player has less than five minutes in the period and less than 30 seconds added per move. Thirty seconds exactly does not meet that exception.
FAQ
Is 10+0 rapid and 10+5 blitz?
The reverse: 10+0 is blitz because the total is exactly 10 minutes. For 10+5, 60 increments add five minutes, making 15 and therefore rapid.
Does every blitz event use a one-minute illegal-move penalty?
No. B.3 imports rapid’s A.3 one-minute adjustment; B.2 applies the Competitive Rules under its stricter supervision and recording conditions. Read the event’s announced regime.
Does the sixty-increment calculation predict the game length?
No. It is a classification formula in A.1/B.1. A 15+10 game counts as 25 minutes for that classification because sixty ten-second increments total ten minutes, regardless of how many moves the game actually lasts.
Related rules
Sources and scope
FIDE Laws of Chess · 2023 · Appendices A–B; 8.4.
Effective 1 January 2023. These guides explain over-the-board play. The official text and any event regulations permitted by it govern competition; teaching positions are not tournament records.