In short: Chess with at most ten minutes per player for the whole game. With an increment, what counts is the time plus 60 times the increment per move.
Also called blitz chess.
Under FIDE's rules a game is blitz when each player has at most ten minutes for all their moves. With an increment you count the time plus 60 times the increment, and that may not come to more than ten minutes. 3 minutes plus 2 seconds a move makes 5 minutes, so it is blitz. Until July 1, 2014, the limit was fifteen minutes.
The rules in blitz
By and large the same rules apply as in a classical game. Mate wins, and if your time runs out you have usually lost. But a few things differ:
- No scoresheet. The players don't have to write down the moves.
- Smaller penalties. Where the rules of a classical game give the opponent two extra minutes, for example after an illegal move, it is one minute in blitz.
- Claim at once. If no arbiter is watching your game, an illegal move must be pointed out before the opponent makes their next move. Otherwise it stands.
That is how almost all blitz is played. But if each game has its own arbiter, who also records the moves, the full competition rules apply, just as in a classical game.
Blitz at the club
Many chess clubs have a blitz night once a week. Often each player has five minutes for the game, and everyone plays everyone. It is a good way to play many games in one evening, but blitz mostly trains speed. If you want to get better at calculating, you need longer games too.
Bullet and Armageddon
With less than three minutes per player it is often called bullet. With 30 seconds it is sometimes called hyperbullet, and with 15 seconds ultrabullet.
Armageddon is a game that decides a match when everything else has ended level, often after both rapid and blitz. White gets more time than Black, for example five minutes against four, but if the game is drawn, Black wins the match.
How time controls work in general is explained under time control.
Frequently asked questions
How much time do you have in blitz?
At most ten minutes each for the whole game. With an increment you count the time plus 60 times the increment. 3 minutes plus 2 seconds a move makes 3 + 2 = 5 minutes, and that is blitz.
Do you have to keep score in blitz?
No. In blitz and rapid, the players don't have to write down the moves. The exception is blitz where each game has its own arbiter who records the moves: there the full competition rules apply.
What is bullet?
Chess with less than three minutes per player. With 30 seconds it is sometimes called hyperbullet, and with 15 seconds ultrabullet.
Updated November 14, 2026