Clock Questions

Hello, folks. I’ve always played casual, non-timed games. so using a clock will be new to me.

Just wanted to ask a couple questions about the time formats when setting up a game.

  1. Assuming the notation of 5|5 means 5 min game, 5 sec back for each move? 45|0 is 45 min game, no time back per move?
  2. What do the clock and lightning bolt icons mean next to each game time format?

Thanks!

Correct at the time formats, minutes start + seconds increment

The icons are indicators of different categories of time.

bullet
blitz
rapid
classical

Most chess platforms keep ratings for a player organized by time categories. So one player usually has 4 unique ratings.

Multiple time formats fit into one category. For example 10+0 and 10+5 are both “rapid”.