Connection Issues During Games

What Happens When You Disconnect

Losing connection mid-game doesn't lose the game instantly. A grace countdown starts, visible to both players:

| Mode | Grace time | |------|-----------| | Bullet (1+0) | 30 seconds | | Blitz (3+0) | 60 seconds | | Rapid (10+0) | 120 seconds |

Reconnect before it runs out — reopen the game page and play continues from where it was. If the countdown expires, the connected player wins.

The Tab-Switch Trap

Switching away from the game tab counts as going absent and starts the countdown — switching back cancels it. Keep the game tab focused for the whole game: no alt-tabbing to check messages mid-move.

Your Clock Is Safe From Lag

Clocks are enforced by the server, not your browser. A frozen screen never grants extra time — but it also means nobody can lag-cheat you: the position and clocks you see after reconnecting are the authoritative ones.

If the Game Never Started

If a first move isn't made in time (15s in Bullet, 45s in Blitz, 2min in Rapid), the game cancels and both stakes are refunded automatically — no-shows don't cost you anything in casual games. (Tournament games forfeit instead — see Tournaments.)

Keeping Your Connection Solid

• Prefer a wired or strong Wi-Fi connection over mobile data for staked games.
• Close bandwidth-heavy apps (streams, torrents, cloud backups) while playing.
• Avoid VPNs mid-game — besides the latency, jumping locations can trip security checks.
• Playing on a laptop? Plug it in — aggressive battery-saver modes throttle background connections.