Adjournment

An adjournment stops a game without ending it. When play resumes, the players continue from the position that existed at suspension, with the clock times recorded under the event's procedure.

The Laws of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) describe the traditional sealed-move procedure. If a playing session ends while the game is still in progress, the player whose turn it is secretly writes down the next move. That move and the required game information are sealed in an envelope, and the clock is stopped. At resumption, the position and clocks are restored, the envelope is opened, and the sealed move is played.

The sealed move prevents an obvious advantage: the player to move cannot spend the entire break deciding what to play, while the opponent does not know the choice. Adjournment is connected with the scheduling of sessions and the time control, and it is different from a short arbiter interruption during a game that continues in the same session.