Blitz Chess, also known as Speed Chess, is a variant defined for USCF purposes as a single, sudden death time control from 5 to 10 minutes of total playing time (see 5C, Ratable Time Controls.). Blitz games are often played at G/5,d0. G/3+2 is popular in on-line play, and is now standard in international (FIDE) blitz events. Since most Blitz games take around 10 minutes, it has long been popular for fun games where time is limited, such as lunch breaks or between rounds of other tournaments. Some clubs will host Blitz events that may have 20+ rounds in a single evening. Blitz events are often played in double Swiss or double round robin format. This has the advantages of making the event go faster and avoiding potential color problems. Blitz is also sometimes used to break ties in tournaments.
Blitz follows most of the same rules as regular and quick chess (including touch move, one hand for each move, and the pawn promotion rules of 8F6 and 8F7). Rules that are different for Blitz are given below.
1. As in Quick chess, scorekeeping is not required.
2. An illegal move that is completed loses, provided the opponent has sufficient mating material and either takes the king (if the king is in check) or claims a win and stops the clock before completing their next move. If the opponent completes their next move without making a claim, the position stands and the illegal move cannot be corrected. An illegal move is completed when the player presses the clock. A player may retract an illegal move prior to pressing the clock. A legal move is completed when the hand leaves the piece.
2a. An illegal move that is completed doesn’t negate a player’s right to claim on time, provided it is done prior to the opponent’s claim of an illegal move. If the claims are simultaneous, the player who made the illegal move loses.
2b. A player who moves his king adjacent to the opponent’s king and then attempts to claim a win under this rule based on the opponent’s failure to notice the check shall lose the game.
Variation: Illegal move does not lose. Instead, one minute is added to the opponents remaining time. This variation does not need to be announced in advance but must be announced or posted on site.
3. Once each side has completed one move the position on the board and the time on the clock remain as set except if one or both players have extra time, then the TD may reduce the time accordingly (i.e. the clock was set incorrectly and a player has six minutes remaining in a G/5,d0 game). If the king or rook are set up incorrectly, castling is not allowed.
4. The game can end in a draw in all the same ways as regular and quick chess except for the following differences:
4a. A game is a draw if a player has insufficient mating material when the opponent makes an illegal move
4b. A player can claim a draw by “triple occurrence of position” or “the 50 move rule” in the same manner as in sudden death time pressure in regular chess with the exception that, as in quick chess, the player need not be under 5 minutes.
See Also 14, The Drawn Game.
5. The standard penalty for the first violation of a rule (except a completed illegal move) is to add one minute to the opponent’s clock. Examples of an offense where a penalty may be assessed include, but are not limited to, when a player 1) presses the clock after displacing pieces, 2) knocks over the clock, and 3) touches a piece, moves another, and presses the clock. There may be circumstances where a penalty assessed may not be standard (e.g. repeat offenses, unsporting behavior, etc…) and is left to the discretion of the tournament director.
6. If a spectator interferes in any way that may affect the result of the game (e.g. calling attention to a flag fall or an illegal move), the tournament director may cancel the game and rule that a new game be played in its place. See also 13C1, Only players may call flag.
