You may have heard about blitz chess before, but do you know what it is? Simply put, blitz is any chess game where each player has a combined time of ten minutes or less. Anything longer would be classified as regular (over 65 minutes), quick (more than 10 but less than 30 minutes), or both (30-65 minutes). In determining the combined time, you must add one minute thereto for every second or delay or increment that is contained in the time control (example: G/3+2 is a five minute game, not three).
Why would someone play blitz chess? Many play blitz for the pure enjoyment as they can often make mistakes without losing (because their opponent makes many mistakes as well) due to the brief time control. They may also appreciate being able to complete many games very quickly. For instance, in our monthly blitz tournaments, you can play six blitz games in a little under an hour while you might not even finish a regular game in that time.
Blitz chess does have disadvantages, though. Due to the fast-paced nature of blitz, your mind is not being prepared to thoroughly analyze moves as you will have to when playing regular chess. As a component of this, playing blitz could put you in the habit of playing rapidly without thinking in your regular games, which can be fatal to your progress as a chess player. Finally, you cannot earn rating floors or titles from playing in blitz as there are separate ratings for regular, quick and blitz games (titles and rating floors are based on regular rated games).
If you do decide to play blitz chess (especially over-the-board), you need to be aware that there are several special rules that apply only to blitz, as described below:-
- Illegal Moves: If you make an illegal move, you must correct it before pressing the clock. If you do not and your opponent calls it out before he presses the clock, you lose the game by forfeiture.
- Captures: Capturing the king is legal in blitz chess and results in victory to the capturing party.
- Mating Material: Normally, if a player ran out of time but his opponent only had a king and two knights (with no forced wins), the game would be drawn. In blitz chess, however, a king and two knights are sufficient mating material for a loss on time to the player whose time expired.
- Draws: Insufficient losing chances is impermissible as a draw claim in blitz.
- Appeals: The Chief Tournament Director has final discretion over all disputes in blitz chess. Unlike in regular or quick chess, an appeals committee or special referee cannot be consulted for appeals.
It is important to note that these are merely the differences within the official rules. Local organizers will often enact variations to these rules, especially in blitz chess. For instance, some organizers may use clock-move whereby the touch-move rule does not apply and moves can be taken back until the player clicks the clock (rather than being fixed when the piece is touched). Because these variations can vary, you should always check with the organizer for their policies before the tournament begins.
Now that you understand what blitz chess is, hopefully you will be able to make informed decisions about whether you want to play in blitz tournaments when you have the opportunity. If you are a K-12 student who is looking for a blitz event to play in, our monthly blitz tournaments are a great place to start. You can find all of the information you need and registration at our Tournaments page. With that, I will wish you well in your blitz games, how many or how few they may be.
Bibliography: USCF’s Official Rules of Chess (7th Edition), Chapter 1 & 11.