What does 90/40 + 30 mean?

Each player gets 90 minutes to complete their first 40 moves. On completing move 40, the clock adds 30 more minutes for the rest of the game. In FIDE events a 30-second increment also applies from move one, and unused first-phase time carries over.

What does d5 mean in G/120 d5?

A 5-second simple delay: before each of your moves, the clock waits 5 seconds before your main time starts counting down. Unused delay seconds are not added to your clock, unlike a Fischer increment.

Why does a tournament clock need to count moves?

Because the extra time in a multi-phase control is triggered by a move number — typically move 40. The clock counts button presses to know when to add the next phase's time, which is why every move must be followed by exactly one clock press.

What happens if I run out of time before move 40?

You lose on time (provided your opponent has mating material). The second-phase time only arrives when you complete the required number of moves; it cannot rescue a flag that falls during the first phase.

Do FIDE and USCF use the same timing method?

No. FIDE standard events use a 30-second Fischer increment, which adds time after every move. USCF events traditionally use a 5-second simple delay, which only pauses the countdown. Both are supported in Chess Clock, along with Bronstein delay.

Tournament time controls: FIDE and USCF, explained

Tournament chess uses multi-phase time controls: a first block of time for a fixed number of moves, then extra time added when that move count is reached. FIDE's standard is 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes, with a 30-second increment throughout; USCF events commonly use G/120 with a 5-second delay.

What makes a control 'multi-phase'?

A casual control like 10+5 has one phase: a pot of time that must last the whole game. Tournament controls are different — they ration time per stretch of moves. A control written 90/40 + 30 means: 90 minutes to complete your first 40 moves, then 30 more minutes for everything after that.

The design solves two problems at once. It forces a reasonable pace through the opening and middlegame (you cannot burn three hours on move 15 and stall the round), and it guarantees fresh time for the endgame, where precision matters most. Some events chain three or more phases; the classic American schedule 40/2h + 20/1h + 30 min is a three-phase control.

The one non-negotiable requirement: the clock must know the move number.

How a phase transition actually works on the clock

Here is the mechanical sequence at the FIDE control, 90 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes, +30s per move:

Both players start with 90:00. Every completed move adds 30 seconds.
The clock counts button presses to track each player's move number — which is why you must press the clock after every move, and never press it twice.
When a player completes move 40 (their 40th press), the clock instantly credits them 30:00 on top of whatever they have left. Leftover first-phase time is kept, never forfeited.
If a player's flag falls before their 40th move is complete, they lose on time — even if the opponent has one second more.

One subtlety trips players up: if the button presses ever get out of sync with the real move count (a missed press, a double press), the clock's phase transition fires on the wrong move. Arbiters can correct the clock, but at casual events you should agree beforehand how to fix a desynchronized counter. Chess Clock shows the move counter on screen, so both players can verify it at a glance.

FIDE standard controls

For FIDE-rated classical events the default is 90 minutes for 40 moves, plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment from move one. Because of the increment, notation must be kept for the entire game. FIDE rapid events typically use 15+10 and blitz events 3+2, both single-phase.

Longer schedules still appear at elite events — some use 120 minutes for 40 moves in the first phase — but 90/40+30 +30s is what you will meet at the vast majority of open tournaments worldwide. Chess Clock's FIDE preset configures the two phases, the move trigger at 40, and the 30-second increment in one tap.

USCF controls: delay instead of increment

American tournament chess grew up around the simple delay rather than the increment. In a control written G/120 d5, each player has 120 minutes for the whole game, and before each move the clock waits 5 seconds before the main time starts running. Unlike a Fischer increment, unused delay is not banked — your clock can never grow.

Control	Base time	Delay	Typical use
G/120 d5	120 min	5 s	Standard USCF adult events
G/90 d5	90 min	5 s	Junior sections
G/30 d5	30 min	5 s	Youth and scholastic events
40/2h + 20/1h + 30 min, d5	multi-phase	5 s	Traditional large opens

The last row is the classic American schedule descended from the pre-adjournment era: two hours for the first 40 moves, another hour for the next 20, then 30 minutes for the rest, with delay throughout. All four are Pro presets in Chess Clock, including the three-phase Delay Tournament control with its two move-count triggers.

Setting up tournament controls without the manual

Programming a multi-phase control on a hardware clock is the part of tournament chess nobody enjoys: nested menus, per-phase move counts, increment versus delay flags, and a different procedure on every model. Get one digit wrong and the extra hour never arrives at move 40.

Chess Clock sidesteps this by shipping the real controls as named presets — FIDE 90/40+30 +30s, USCF G/120 d5 and its junior and youth variants, the three-phase 40/2h + 20/1h + 30min schedule, and a long classical 90/40 + 50/20 + 15 min with +30s. Each preset arrives with phases, move triggers, and timing mode already correct, and the on-screen move counter lets both players confirm the phase transition happened when it should. If your event uses something unusual, the custom builder supports any number of phases with per-phase move counts, and saves the result for next time.

Turn your iPhone into a real chess clock

Chess Clock gives you every time control from Bullet to FIDE Classical — beautiful, precise, and completely private.

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