Tournament chess clock online
The full FIDE classical control, played properly: forty moves in ninety minutes with a thirty-second increment, then thirty more minutes added to whatever you had left. Almost no free web clock plays a genuine second period. This one does.
Nothing leaves this tab. The clock is JavaScript running on your own device. No account, no upload, no ads, no time limit — and once the page has loaded it keeps working with the Wi-Fi off.
What this clock does
The period is added, not replaced
Play the first forty moves quickly and you carry the saved time into the second period. That is how a real tournament clock behaves, and it is why playing the first stage fast is worth something.
Moves to the control, on screen
Each half shows how many moves are left before the time control. No more counting scoresheet lines under time pressure.
Delay controls too
US Swiss events run on delay rather than increment. 40/90 SD/30 d5 and G/60 d5 are in the list, implemented as genuine delay.
What a multi-stage control is
A tournament control splits the game into periods. The classical FIDE control is written 90+30 / 40, then 30+30: ninety minutes for the first forty moves, then thirty more minutes for the rest of the game, with a thirty-second increment throughout.
The crucial detail is that the second period is added to whatever you have left, not swapped in. A player who reaches move forty with twenty minutes on the clock starts the second period with fifty. Time saved in the opening is time you still own in the endgame.
Why most apps get this wrong
Playing a second period properly requires the clock to count moves per side and to roll over at exactly the right press. Most free clocks skip it, offer a single countdown, and leave you to add time by hand — which is fine until you are the one under time pressure at move thirty-nine.
Worth knowing. The Chess Timer app plays single-stage controls only. Multi-stage is a feature of this web clock, which is free, unlimited, and keeps working once the page has loaded even with the network off.
The controls in the list
| Control | Used for | Bonus type |
|---|---|---|
| 90+30 / 40, then 30+30 | FIDE classical, norm-eligible events | Increment |
| 15+10 | FIDE standard rapid | Increment |
| 3+2 | FIDE standard blitz | Increment |
| 40/90, SD/30 d5 | US Chess weekend Swiss | Simple delay |
| G/60 d5 | US club night | Simple delay |
| 40 moves in 2 hr, then 1 hr | The older classical control | None |
Building your own
Open the presets sheet and tick Add a second stage. Set how many moves the first period covers, how much time the second one adds, and the bonus type. The line under the builder shows the control written out in full so you can check it against the tournament regulations before the round starts.
The ±10s buttons on each half are there for arbiter corrections — if a clock was started late or an illegal move penalty needs applying, adjust the side that needs it without disturbing the other.
Read next
Guides that go with this clock
Chess time controls explained
3+2, G/30 d5, 40/90 SD/30. Every notation you will meet, decoded, with a table of what each one feels like to play.
Read it RulesChess clock rules
Move then press, same hand, no hovering, and what an arbiter will actually do about it. The rules that decide games.
Read it Choosing a controlFIDE time controls
The official classical, rapid and blitz controls, the formula FIDE uses to classify an event, and how to run them on a clock.
Read itFAQ
Questions about this clock
What is the FIDE classical time control?
Ninety minutes for the first forty moves, then thirty minutes for the rest of the game, with a thirty-second increment added from move one. The second period's thirty minutes is added to whatever remains after move forty.
Does the extra time replace what is left, or add to it?
It adds. Reach the time control with fifteen minutes still on your clock and you begin the second period with forty-five. That is why playing the first period efficiently is worth real time later.
Can I use a phone as a tournament clock?
For a club or friendly game, yes — this page works on a phone and plays the full control. For a rated event, check with the arbiter: many federations require an approved hardware clock, and some prohibit phones at the board entirely.
Free, in your browser
Other clocks on this site
Same engine underneath, set up for a different game. Pick the one that matches what is on the table.
Two players, one phone
Lay the device flat between you. Each player taps their own half, and the far half is rotated so it reads correctly across the board.
Open it FischerIncrement clock
Any base time plus Fischer seconds per move, with the added time flashing on screen so you can see the increment doing its job.
Open it DelayDelay clock
Simple US delay and Bronstein, both implemented properly — not faked with increment. Set G/30 d5 in one tap.
Open it BlitzBlitz timer
Preloaded with 3|2 and the rest of the blitz family, with tenths under the wire and a beep through the last ten seconds.
Open it BulletBullet timer
One-minute games with tenths showing from the very first second and presses that register the instant your finger lands.
Open it RapidRapid timer
10|0, 15|10 and the rest of the rapid family, with a live estimate of the longest a game can run so you can plan a round.
Open it OfflineOffline clock
Load the page once and turn the network off. Nothing about your game is uploaded, because there is nowhere for it to go.
Open it Any gameBoard game timer
The same clock, pointed at any two-player game. Give each side a time bank and stop one player thinking the evening away.
Open it