Rapid chess

Fast chess (also known as speed chess) is a variation of chess in which each side is given less time to make a move than under normal tournament time controls. This means that each player will have less than 60 minutes at his or her disposal, based on a 60-move game, and sometimes considerably less than this. Fast chess can be further subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blitz chess, and bullet chess. Armageddon chess is a particular variation in which different rules apply for each of the two players.

The 2016 World Rapid Chess Champion is Vassily Ivanchuk from Ukraine, and the 2016 World Blitz Chess Champion is Sergey Karjakin. Anna Muzychuk also from Ukraine, won both the 2016 Women world Rapid and Blitz Championships.

FIDE divide time controls for chess into "classical" time controls, and the fast chess time controls. Currently, for master-level players (with an Elo of 2200 or higher) the regulations state that at least 120 minutes per player (based on a 60-move game) must be allocated for a game to be rated on the "classical" list. Games played faster than this may be rated under the time controls of rapid and blitz, but only if they comply with the time controls for those categories.

More recently in November 2015, Oleg Skvortsov and Christian Issler on behalf of the Zurich Chess Club have petitioned FIDE to allow the rating of 40 minute games as classical chess (instead of the current Rapid classification), but there was no response.

A fast chess game can be further divided into several categories, which are primarily distinguished by the selection of time controls. Games may be played with or without time increments per move.

Time controls for each player in a game of rapid chess are, according to FIDE, more than 10 minutes, but less than 60 minutes. Rapid chess can be played with or without time increments for each move. In a game where time increments are used, a player can automatically gain, for instance, ten more seconds on the clock after each move. In a case where time increments are used, the total time per player for a 60 move game must be more than 10 minutes, but less than 60 minutes.

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