In the US Chess rulebook, the chapter on Blitz starts out by saying “Blitz Chess (also known as Speed Chess, 5-minute Chess, Lightning Chess (2-minute), and Bullet Chess (1-minute) is a variant defined as a single, sudden death time control from 1 to 10 minutes.”
Do you consider bullet and lighting to be under the definition of “blitz”?
No, no, a thousand times no. U.S. Chess has no business involving itself with (or creating rating systems for) anything faster than G/3 inc/2. Requirements should be (a) mm >= 3, and (b) mm+ss >= 5.
Bill Smythe
No, but it makes sense to have a common set of rules.
Alex Relyea
Who cares? 5min and less is not chess, anyhow. Might as well play bingo
Amusingly, there was a guy who used to come to our club who had the opposite opinion. Blitz was the only thing he cared about. He scoffed at us for playing “20-minute chess” (we were doing Quick Chess events at the time). He would play blitz against all takers until we started our rated games, and then he would leave.
I have to say that 5 minute chess is my favorite form of the game as well. Playing anything as slow as G/30 seems to move like molasses in January. A life Expert at a now defunct club I used to attend only liked 3 minute chess. A young player there, now a strong Master, cut his teeth playing only bullet (1 minute). On the flip side, another friend of mine only plays correspondence chess. He recoils from anything where a time limit is imposed. In my father’s house there are many rooms.
No.
Bullet and lightning should be played under the same rules as blitz, yes. Then again, as other threads in this area have espoused, those blitz rules need some work, anyway.
U.S. Chess should never consider rating anything faster than G/3 inc/2, or G/5 d/0.
Bill Smythe
What about G/3;d2? I’ve run events at G/3;d2.
As long as it satisfies the definition of blitz – which is that mm+ss must be between 5 and 10 inclusive, and mm by itself must be at least 3 – then it passes the test. G/3 d/2 qualifies.
Bill Smythe
Yes, I brought up many issues with the blitz rules years ago but nothing has been done to fix them.
The blitz rules currently used by many USA organizers – and apparently set forth in the U.S. Chess blitz rules – are little changed since they were written decades ago by WBCF – World Blitz Chess Federation, aka GM Walter Browne. He had some strange birds in there – like castling long on the kingside and short on the queenside if the pieces were set up incorrectly, and all the chatter about moving one player’s king next to the other player’s. Also, a single completed illegal move loses immediately. All this stuff has been cleared up by FIDE, but U.S. Chess has not followed suit. U.S. Chess should modernize its blitz rules to bring them closer to current FIDE blitz rules.
Bill Smythe
I agree but will the rules committee or any delegate submit any ADM’s on this? All this talk is pointless if no one is going to submit ADM’s.
Bill, you might recall I tried working with the rules committee to fix the blitz rules but was told by a certain rules committee member that it was unnecessary.
Yes.