Tournament time planner
This tournament time planner shows how long a chess round can last and builds a schedule. Enter the time control, rounds per day, first start time and break. It gives the longest 60-move game and each round's start, and checks the plan against FIDE's limits: 12 hours of play a day and the minimum time for rated games.
Time control
Choose a time control, or type the minutes each player gets, to see the plan.
How it is calculated
- Choose a common time control or type your own: the minutes each player starts with, the seconds added after every move, and a second period if there is one.
- FIDE sets its limits on a game of 60 moves. Each player's time for 60 moves is the starting minutes, plus 60 increments, plus the second period. The longest 60-move game is twice that.
- Type the number of rounds, how many are played each day, when the first round starts and the break between rounds. Each round is placed after the longest 60-move game of the round before it, plus the break.
- The page then says whether FIDE counts the time control as blitz, rapid or standard, which players a standard-rated game may include, whether a day stays within 12 hours of play, and whether the plan leaves title norms possible.
Sources: FIDE Rating Regulations effective from 1 March 2024 (articles 1.1, 1.2 and 3.1); FIDE Laws of Chess from 1 January 2023 (Appendix A.1 and B.1); FIDE Title Regulations effective from 1 January 2024 (article 1.1.3), read on 2026-11-11. Chesspedition is not affiliated with FIDE.
Questions
- How long does a 90 minutes plus 30 seconds game last?
- Up to 4 hours for 60 moves: each player has 90 minutes plus 60 increments of 30 seconds, which is 120 minutes. A longer game runs on, by up to 10 minutes for every 10 more moves.
- What makes a game rapid or blitz?
- FIDE adds 60 times the increment to the starting time. If that is 10 minutes or less for each player the game is blitz; more than 10 but less than 60 minutes is rapid; 60 minutes or more is standard chess.
- How many rounds a day can a FIDE-rated tournament have?
- The rating rules set no number of rounds. They limit play to 12 hours in one day, counted on 60-move games. Three rounds of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds are exactly 12 hours. For title norms there may be no more than 2 rounds a day.
- What is the shortest time control for a standard FIDE rating?
- For 60 moves each player must have at least 120 minutes if a player in the game is rated 2400 or more, 90 minutes if one is rated 1800 or more, and 60 minutes if both are rated below 1800.
- Can a game go on past the time in the schedule?
- Yes, when there is an increment and the game lasts more than 60 moves. Leave a break that can absorb it, or state in your rules when the next round will start.