The best chess clocks (and whether you need one)
A chess clock is two timers in one box: yours runs while you think, and pressing your button stops it and starts your opponent's. Run out of time and you lose, no matter how winning your position is. That single rule is what turns chess from an open-ended pastime into a game you can actually schedule — and it's why every club and tournament game on earth is played with one.
Here's the honest part first: if you play casual games at the kitchen table, you don't need a chess clock yet. Clocks solve two problems — a player who takes forever, and games that need to end by a certain time. If neither is your problem, spend the money on a better set or a good book instead. Buy a clock when slow play starts causing friction, when you want real-board blitz, or when your first tournament appears on the calendar.
If any of those apply, the good news is that this is a cheap, solved category. We compared the clocks club players actually use, and there are three worth buying.
Time controls in plain English
Clock settings look like code ("G/90+30", "5|0", "d5") but decode simply:
- Blitz — 3 to 5 minutes per player for the whole game. Fast, chaotic, addictive.
- Rapid — roughly 10 to 60 minutes per player. The sweet spot for a satisfying casual game that still ends.
- Classical — 60+ minutes per player. Tournament chess, where a single game can fill an afternoon.
Then there are the two extras, and getting these straight matters because they're the main thing separating clocks:
- Increment adds time to your clock after each move. In a "10+5" game you start with 10 minutes and gain 5 seconds back every time you move. Your clock can go up.
- Delay waits before your clock starts counting down. With a 5-second delay, each move gives you 5 free seconds of thinking before your main time is touched — but you can't bank what you don't use.
Both exist to stop games ending in absurd panic-scrambles where players knock pieces over trying to move in under a second. US tournaments mostly use delay (5 seconds is the standard); online play and international events mostly use increment. A clock that handles both is a clock you'll never outgrow.
Our picks at a glance
| Increment | Delay | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chess Armory digital | Yes | Yes | Beginners, home blitz |
| DGT North American | Yes | Yes | Club and tournament play |
| Analog clock | No | No | Looks, casual sudden death |
The three worth buying
Chess Armory digital clock
The affordable digital clock most beginners actually need.
DGT North American clock
The club standard: tournament-legal and nearly indestructible.
Classic analog chess clock
The wind-up look for casual blitz at home. No increments, all charm.
Why the budget digital wins for most people
A chess clock is a timer with two buttons — the expensive ones don't time better. The Chess Armory covers everything a beginner or casual player will ask of it: blitz, rapid, increment, and delay, with buttons responsive enough for fast games and settings you can figure out without rereading the manual monthly. For home games, coffee-shop chess, and family blitz, this is the whole answer. If a clock this cheap dies on you in a few years, replacing it still costs less than one "premium" clock.
Why the DGT North American is the club standard
Walk into a US chess club or weekend tournament and this is the clock on most tables — which is itself the argument for buying it. It's the clock tournament directors know how to set, the interface arbiters trust, and the one your opponents won't squint at. The buttons have the definitive, positive press that matters in time pressure, delay and increment modes cover every US and FIDE control, and it's built to survive years of being slapped by strangers. If you're playing rated chess, or you want a clock you'll never need to replace, buy this one and be done.
Why the analog clock still earns a spot
The wind-up analog clock with two faces and a falling flag is the chess clock of every film you've ever seen, and on a wooden set it looks wonderful. We'd be lying if we said aesthetics don't count for a set that lives on display. But be clear-eyed about the cons: no increment, no delay — analog clocks can only count down, so every game is a sudden-death scramble at the end — plus you have to wind it, and setting both faces to exactly equal times is an act of faith. Buy it for the look and for relaxed games. Don't buy it as your only clock if you ever plan to play seriously.
What actually matters in a chess clock
If you're comparing beyond our picks, these four things separate a good clock from a frustrating one:
- Increment and delay support. Non-negotiable in a digital clock. A clock that only does sudden death recreates the exact problem clocks evolved to fix.
- Button feel. In blitz you'll hit that button hundreds of times a game, often without looking. You want a big, positive press with obvious feedback — mushy or tiny buttons cause the "did my clock stop?" glance that loses games.
- Battery behavior. Standard AA/AAA batteries beat obscure button cells, and a clock should hold its settings when you change them. Any decent clock runs a year or more of regular use per set.
- Presets you'll actually use. A clock with your two or three regular time controls saved is a clock that gets used; one that needs reprogramming through a maze of modes each game night quietly stops coming out of the drawer.
Skip these
Phone apps deserve an honest word: free chess clock apps are genuinely fine for a trial run, and a good way to discover whether timed chess is even fun for you before spending anything. Their weakness is physical — a flat screen has no button feel, a notification can interrupt a game, and in blitz, tapping glass beside the board feels wrong in a way that's hard to articulate until you've done it. Also skip novelty clocks and unbranded triple-function "game timers": the settings interfaces are famously miserable, and the money saved over the Chess Armory is a couple of dollars.
The bottom line
Casual home player: you probably don't need a clock yet — a good set matters more. Ready for timed games: the Chess Armory does everything for very little. Playing club or rated chess: the DGT North American is the standard for a reason. Want the film-scene look and know its limits: the analog is the charming third option. And once the clock is ticking, time pressure exposes gaps in your play fast — our guide on how to get better at chess is the natural next read.