A time control dictates how much
time each side has in a game of
chess. It is written in the format of (Number of moves)/(Number of minutes.) Some
popular time controls are:
G/30 - Game in 30 minutes (for each side.) This is "fast" for standard games. Game will last an hour max.
G/65 - The
tournaments I have played in have used this TC. Nice and roomy.
G/5 - Normal
blitz chess TC.
G/3 - Even
faster blitz chess (:
Some digital chess clocks allow for an
increment. An increment is an amount of time, in seconds, that is added to a player every time he makes a move. Another popular time control is 2 minutes each side with a 12 second increment.
I believe higher level players like to use TCs such as 30/60 SD/30. This means you have an hour to make your first 30 moves, then those 30 moves you have a
sudden death time of 30 minutes added to your clock. Note that this is completely
conjecture as I am too much of a
patzer to know what higher level players do (: