Standardization of time control

Standardization of time control

To: FIDE Presidential Board
CC: FIDE Office, FIDE Rules and Tournament Regulations Committee, FIDE Titles and Ratings Committee

Following several fruitful meetings between the ACP and FIDE regarding time control in official FIDE events, it is time to make one more step forward, the one the majority of professional chess players are waiting for - to standardize the time control in all events.

Chess players find it very difficult to adapt to various time controls in various tournaments. The situation has become very serious, as practically, it is hardly possible to play two tournaments in a row with the same time control! In majority of other sports, the duration of a game is precisely set and there is no reason why in chess the situation should be different.

After the ACP - FIDE meeting in Athens in July 2005, the new time control was proposed for official FIDE events: 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for remaining moves, with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move 1. This time control has been widely recognised and warmly welcomed by many chess players and organisers, however a significant number of chess players preferred other, longer, 7-hour time control.

The standardization of time control is absolutely necessary, however the ACP understands, that it is reasonable to leave a choice between the two above mentioned possibilities to organisers of a particular event, as for some tournaments the shorter time control can be more suitable, while for other tournaments the longer one. After many discussions with players, organisers, arbiters, and officials, the ACP has decided to come up with the following proposal:

Section I - Digital clocks

Classical

(90'/40+G-30')+30" ("the shorter")
[90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for remaining moves, with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move 1]

or

(100'/40+50'/20+G-15')+30" ("the longer")
[100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes for remaining moves, with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move 1]

Rapid

(G-20')+10"
[20 minutes for all moves with an increment of 10 seconds per move, starting from move 1]

Blitz

(G-3')+2"
[3 minutes for all moves with an increment of 2 seconds per move, starting from move 1]

The above mentioned time controls are to be used in all official FIDE tournaments, as well as in all FIDE-rated tournaments. Both, "the shorter" and "the longer", time controls for classical chess are equally possible. Tournaments, in which different time control is used, should not be calculated for rating and title purposes, starting from the 1st of July 2008.

Section II - Mechanical clocks - Transition period

The ACP is aware, that some tournaments are still played on mechanical clocks. Therefore, we propose the following time controls to be used on mechanical clocks:

Classical

120'/40+G-30'
[120 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for remaining moves]

or

120'/40+60'/20+G-30'
[120 minutes for 40 moves, then 60 minutes for 20 moves, then 30 minutes for remaining moves]

Rapid

G-30'
[30 minutes for all moves]

Blitz

G-5'
[5 minutes for all moves]

The above mentioned time controls for mechanical clocks can be used in FIDE-rated tournaments, however no longer than till the 30th of June 2010. After that date, no international title norms (WIM, WGM, IM, GM) will be achievable in such tournaments, however the tournaments will be still counted for rating purposes.

Nevertheless, the ACP already recommends to use digital clocks with the time control described in the Section I.

Section III - Official FIDE events

Taking into consideration results of official meetings between the ACP and FIDE, we propose to use:
- the shorter time control (90'/40+G-30')+30" in Olympiads, World Cup 2007
- the longer time control (100'/40+50'/20+G-15')+30" in World Championship Matches, Challengers Matches, FIDE Masters Cup

The ACP proposes to conduct the official poll among all participants of the World Cup 2007, in order to establish whether they prefer the shorter or the longer time control to be used in World Cups and Continental Championships. The time control for future World Cups and Continental Championships should be set accordingly to the results of the poll.

Best regards
ACP General Secretary
Bartlomiej Macieja
On behalf of ACP Board
16th of September 2007