Are you new to chess and finding the many abbreviations and terms too complicated? Do you have a hard time understanding what these Chess terms really indicate?
Don’t worry. Yes, chess has many complicated terms and abbreviations, but when you get used to them, it’s not too difficult. These chess abbreviations really exist to make chess easier for you to understand. And you don’t have to be a professional to be able to remember all these terms.
What Does G Stand for in Chess?
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In chess, ‘G’ stands for Game Time. For instance, G/30 would mean that each player has 30 minutes of time for the entire game. That would mean a total of 60 minutes for the game of chess to end.
What is Time Control in Chess? Chess Time Control Explained
Time Control in Chess refers to the time period allocated for each game of chess. In chess terms, Time Control is referred to as ‘G.’ Usually, it is written like this G/30, G/75 or G/60.
Chess Time Controls can be simple, or they can be very complicated with a series of time delays and increments.
The classical time control which FIDE uses for their chess matches is pretty complicated. They have 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game. There is also an increment of 30 seconds per move starting on move 61.
A classical time control typically used in local over-the-board chess games would look something like G/60 d5. This would translate to a tie control of 60 minutes per player and a 5-second delay on each move before the clock begins to run again. This wouldn’t be so complicated for you if you used a chess clock. Chess clocks are easy for measuring delays and timing moves accurately.
A time delay or d is different from an increment. An increment adds time to the clock, but a delay means that as soon as a player has made a move and the clock is pressed, the other player’s tie does not start until the delay time has passed.
Time controls are a lot different in rapid chess and bullet chess than in a classical chess game. In rapid chess, the Time Control is much shorter, giving players much less time to think and make their moves.
There are basically two types of Time Control in chess. One type is moves-per-time. In this type, the players must complete a specified number of moves within a certain time.
The second type of time control is called ‘Sudden Death.’ Here each player has a fixed amount of time to complete the game. This does not take into consideration the number of moves made.
Similarly, there are also two types of time delays. One is the ‘Bronstein Delay,’ which is less complicated. This type means that once a player has made his move and pressed the clock, the clock will start running only after the delay time is over. The delay time could be 5 seconds or more, depending on the Time Controls. If the player makes the move before the time expires, then no time is subtracted from the player’s clock.
But the ‘Fischer delay’ method is a bit more complicated. In this type, the delay time is added to the player’s remaining time before the move. If the move is made before the delay time expires, the player keeps the remaining time, and his overall clock time will increase.
Time increments on a clock are different. It refers to a fixed amount of time or number of seconds that are added to a player’s clock after a move is completed. In chess terms, it would be G/15+5. This means that each player has a total of 15 minutes to play the game and finish their moves. And after each player completes a move, five seconds are added to their time. So 12 moves would get a player a minute added to their clock.
Time controls vary a lot depending on the type of chess game, the sponsors and who organizes them. The time controls on online games like chess.com is much simpler and more stable. They also have options where you can adjust your time controls. Many major chess tournaments use 90-minute sudden death as their time control. The Blitz chess time control of the US chess federation is just 5 minutes for the game, with no time delays or increments!
What Does G Stand for in Chess? Chess Time Controls Summary
G in chess stands for Time Control. Time controls in chess vary according to the type of chess game and its sponsors. In classical chess, the time control would usually be G/60 d5. This would translate as 60 minutes to time per player with a delay of 5 seconds for each move. Chess terms are not so difficult to understand once you get used to them. Chess is really more fun and interesting than a series of complicated abbreviations.
Also read: How long do you have between chess moves?
