Forgot your clock? Your club's clock broke mid-round? Our free online chess clock works on any phone, tablet or laptop, with no app and no sign-up.

How to use it

  1. Pick a preset or enter your own minutes and increment.
  2. Tap either half of the screen to start. The opponent's clock begins.
  3. After each move, tap your own half to pass the turn.
  4. When a player's time runs out, their side turns red.

The top clock is rotated 180 degrees so the player opposite can read it. On the keyboard, press Space to switch sides.

Time controls explained

  • Bullet (1+0): super fast, mostly online.
  • Blitz (3+0, 3+2, 5+0): a quick evening game.
  • Rapid (10+0, 15+10, 30+0): time to think, popular at club nights.
  • Classical (90+30): the standard for serious tournaments.

Fischer increment vs. delay

Fischer increment adds a fixed number of seconds to your clock after every move. Time you save is kept. FIDE uses it for classical events.

Simple delay waits for a few seconds at the start of each move before your clock starts counting down. Unused delay is lost. It is common in US tournaments.

If you are not sure which to use, pick Fischer: it is the fairest in long endgames.

Multi-stage controls, Bronstein and hourglass

Classical events often add time after a set number of moves. Build that exactly, for example FIDE 40/90 +30 then 30 minutes with +30: add up to three stages, each with its own time and increment. Besides Fischer and simple delay you can choose Bronstein (only the time you actually used is added back) and hourglass (time you spend goes to your opponent).

Misclicked? Undo restores the previous move. Every move's thinking time is recorded in the move log, low-time warnings turn the clock amber then red, and fullscreen mode makes it readable across the table. Save your own presets and they follow your account.

Works offline

Open the clock page once while you are online and your browser keeps a copy. After that it loads without a connection, which makes it reliable in basements, school halls and tournament venues with poor wifi. Add Chess Home to your home screen to launch it like an app.

It also asks your phone to keep the screen on during a game, where the browser allows it.

Good clock etiquette

  • Press the clock with the hand that moved the piece.
  • Do not hold your finger over it.
  • If the clock is wrong, stop it and call the arbiter.

Running a club night? Pair it with our tournament pairing generator and you have the full toolkit for free.