Time Control for Bullet, Blitz and Standard Does anyone know the function which dictates which three of these time-control categories any particular game would fall under?  For example, I know that a 3 0 is the quickest blitz game that can be played but I would be unsure whether or not a 2 3 (2 minutes on each persons clock with 3 second increments added) would be blitz or bullet.  I'm assuming there is a fairly simplistic formula I could plug these metrics into for a definitive answer but I have yet to stumble upon it.

Thanks ^_^
There is no such globally accepted formula. Time controls are defined only by their formal definitions (as unhelpful as that sounds). Any further descriptive language, like "blitz" or "lightning" or "bullet", while they carry certain conventional connotations, do not have objective criteria. However, certain organizations may define these terms concretely within their own domains.



USCF

The USCF defines three time-control zones: Regular, Quick, and Blitz. Different sets of time controls fall into one (or more--it is possible for a game to count as both Regular and Quick, in which case the player's ratings in both categories are affected) of these categories. Determining the category is simple: calculate the [estimated] total playing time (TPT_U) as:

TPT_U = Minutes + SecondsPerIncrement


The TPT_U is then slotted into a zone as follows:

TPT_U &gt; 65: Regular
30 ≤ TPT_U ≤ 65: Regular AND Quick
10 &lt; TPT_U &lt; 30: Quick
5 ≤ TPT_U ≤ 10: Blitz




FIDE

FIDE defines (as far as I can tell) two time-control zones beyond the standard FIDE time control: Rapid and Blitz. To determine which of these zones a time control falls within, calculate the [estimated] total playing time (TPT_F) as:

TPT_F = Minutes + SecondsPerIncrement


The TPT_F is then slotted into a zone as follows:

10 &lt; TPT_F &lt; 60: Rapid
TPT_F ≤ 10: Blitz




CHESS.COM

Chess.com defines three time-control zones: Standard, Blitz, and Bullet. To determine which of these zones a time control falls within, calculate the [estimated] total playing time in minutes (TPT_C) as:

TPT_C = Minutes + 2/3*SecondsPerIncrement


This assumes a forty-move game and is derived from the following expression (multiply the increment in seconds by forty, then convert to minutes):

TPT_C = Minutes + (40 * SecondsPerIncrement / 60)


The TPT_C is then slotted into a zone as follows*:

15 ≤ TPT_C: Standard
3 ≤ TPT_C &lt; 15: Blitz
TPT_C &lt; 3: Bullet


*I've had to extrapolate here, as the definition actually appears to leave a gap between 14 and 15 minutes. I've filled this gap in the manner I considered most likely to be accurate.



Examples

Base | Incr | TPT_U | TPT_F | TPT_C | USCF  | FIDE  | CHESS.COM
-----|------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|----------
 2   | 1    | 3     | 3     | 2.667 | N/A   | Blitz | Bullet
 3   | 0    | 3     | 3     | 3     | N/A   | Blitz | Blitz
 3   | 2    | 5     | 5     | 4.333 | Blitz | Blitz | Blitz
 5   | 0    | 5     | 5     | 5     | Blitz | Blitz | Blitz
 10  | 0    | 10    | 10    | 10    | Blitz | Blitz | Blitz
 10  | 1    | 11    | 11    | 10.67 | Quick | Rapid | Blitz
 14  | 3    | 17    | 17    | 16    | Quick | Rapid | Standard