Chess Timer Online
A two sided chess clock in the browser, with one countdown for White and one for Black. Tap your side after each move and it stops your clock and starts your opponent's, exactly as a physical DGT or Chronos does. Presets cover the controls people actually play: 5+0 and 3+2 for blitz, 10+5 for online rapid, 15+10 for club and rated rapid, and 60+0 for a long classical game. Useful when you have a board, two players and no working clock.
TAP "START GAME" OR TAP A PLAYER CARD TO BEGIN
What the numbers mean and why the increment changes everything
A time control is written as base time plus increment. In 3+2 each player starts with three minutes and receives two seconds back after every move they complete. The system is named after Bobby Fischer, who patented the digital clock that introduced it, and it was designed to fix one specific ugliness: winning positions being lost in a scramble because a player had four seconds left and twenty moves to make.
In 5+0 there is no increment at all, so the clock is genuinely part of the game and flagging is a legitimate way to win. In 10+5 a long game can finish with more time on the clock than it started with, which is why beginners enjoy it so much more than blitz. If you are choosing a control for two players of different strength, the increment matters more than the base time.
Picking a control that fits the two of you
5+0 is the classic blitz control and the one most casual players know. It rewards pattern recognition and punishes deep thought, which is either the appeal or the problem depending on who you ask. 3+2 is faster on paper but often feels calmer, because the increment stops the last phase turning into a race.
10+5 is the most played rapid control online and a good default for a serious friendly game. 15+10 is the standard for club nights and rated rapid events, and gives both players room to calculate properly. 60+0 is a classical game without increment, which means keeping an eye on your own clock is part of the discipline. Longer FIDE classical events add an increment and a time bonus after move forty, which a two sided browser clock does not attempt to reproduce.
Club nights, classrooms and a phone between two players
The everyday use for this page is mundane: the club clock has a flat battery, the school chess set never had one, you are on a train with a magnetic board, or you are at a kitchen table and the only shared device is a phone. Put it between you, agree which half belongs to which colour, and tap after each move.
The habit that takes practice is pressing the clock as part of the move rather than after it. Move the piece with one hand, press with the same hand, and it stops feeling like an extra step. Beginners routinely forget for the first few games and lose a minute or two before anyone notices, which is worth agreeing on in advance rather than arguing about mid game.
Other games that run on two clocks
Any turn based game where each side should only spend their own time works with this format. Go players use byo yomi rather than a simple increment, but a plain increment control is a reasonable approximation for a casual game. Backgammon, shogi and Scrabble all benefit, particularly Scrabble, where one player thinking for six minutes about a bingo can end a friendship.
Debate rounds, negotiation exercises and classroom presentations use the same idea, giving each side a budget rather than a shared clock. If you only need a single countdown rather than two, the 5-minute timer matches a blitz game, the 15-minute timer matches a rapid one, and the online timer page lists every other duration.
Frequently asked questions
- What do the two numbers in 10+5 or 3+2 mean?
- The first is the starting time in minutes for each player, the second is the increment in seconds added to your clock after each move you complete. In 10+5 you begin with ten minutes and earn five seconds a move, so a sixty move game gives you five extra minutes over the course of it.
- Which time control should two beginners choose?
- 10+5 or 15+10, without much hesitation. Beginners playing 5+0 spend the game panicking and lose positions they had already won, which teaches very little. Add an increment and both players get to think, which is the part worth practising.
- What happens when a player runs out of time?
- That player loses on time and the clock sounds so both of you know immediately. Under FIDE rules there is one exception: if the opponent has no possible sequence of legal moves leading to checkmate, the game is a draw rather than a win.
- Is the increment added before or after my move?
- With Fischer increment it is credited when you complete your move and press the clock. That differs from delay controls such as Bronstein or simple delay, where a few seconds pass before your main time starts to run down, and you never bank the unused seconds.
- Can two players share one phone?
- That is the normal setup. Rest the device between you with each half of the screen assigned to a colour, and tap your own side after each move. Prop it against something so neither player has to reach across the board.
- What if someone forgets to press the clock?
- Their opponent's time keeps running, since the clock cannot see the board. Agree beforehand how you will handle it, because the usual fix is to note it and carry on rather than to reconstruct the lost seconds. Arbiters at real tournaments have discretion to adjust, but at a kitchen table goodwill is the only mechanism available.
- Will the clock keep time if I switch to another app mid game?
- The running side keeps counting against a fixed reference rather than pausing, so leaving the page does not freeze the game. Come back and the position on the clock is what it should be, which also means you cannot buy thinking time by minimising the window.