Used to limit the length of a game. It is the time allotted to reach a certain number of moves. Most GM games are 40 moves in 2 hours, in which case a player forfeits the game if they have not played 40 moves in the first two hours.

The allowed time to play a game, usually measured by a chess clock. A time control can require either a certain number of moves be made per time period (e.g. 40 moves in 2 1⁄2 hours) or it can limit the length of the entire game (e.g. five minutes per game for blitz). Hybrid schemes are used, and time delay controls have become popular since the widespread use of digital clocks.