The slow shelf

The reading room

Full-length handbooks and deep dives, for the evenings when the clock is off and you can read a whole line to the end.

Long read · 15 min
Increment, Delay, Classical, Blitz: Every Time Control, Explained
Time is the second board. The complete taxonomy of chess time controls: how a clock works, the crucial delay-versus-increment distinction, classical through bullet and Armageddon, and the exact clock settings that produce each one for club and rated play.

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