Internationally, 

chess is played in three formats, namely, classical, blitz and

rapid; the main difference being time allotted to make a move.Some players
are more competent in one format while there are the ones who are equally
proficient in all three.Magnus Carlsen was the World Champion across all three
formats at the same time.Here we explain the formats, along with differences.
Blitz
The fastest format of the game
According to FIDE, Blitz is a format, where each player gets a time control of
three minutes and two additional seconds to make a move.Magnus Carlsen, of
Norway, is currently the World Blitz Champion, having won it in 2014 as
well.The first World Blitz Chess Championship was held in 2006 and from
2012 the rapid and blitz format championships are held together.
Rapid
The rapid format of the game
Rapid is a slower format than blitz. Here, a player has 15 minutes, plus 10
additional seconds to make a move, starting from move 1.The concept made
its debut at a FIDE Congress meeting, in 1987, at Seville, Spain.Anatoly
Karpov became the first champion of this format in 1988.Viswanathan Anand
is the current champion, having won it in 2017.
Classical
The classical approach to chess
The classical format of the game has no time control but has a total time limit
of 10 hours.The first World Chess Championship was held in the year 1886,
with Germany's Wilhelm Steinitz being the winner.Magnus Carlsen is the
current champion, having won it in 2013 from Vishy Anand.He successfully
defended the title in 2014 and 2016.
Others
Other versions of the game.
While FIDE recognized Championships are held for the aforementioned three
formats, there are other variations of the game as well.There is Bullet, a 40-
move game with each player getting 3 minutes/move.Armageddon, where for
black, a draw is equal to victory and white has more time on the
clock.Lightning has 10 seconds per move and is also played as one-minute
games.
Information
Bobby Fischer's version of chess
The legendary Bobby Fischer invented a format of chess called Chess960,
where the starting positions for a match are randomized. The name is given
960 because there are 1920 starting positions in total and thus, for each
player, there are 960 variations of the same.
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