Tie-breaking in Swiss system tournaments
Encyclopedia
Tie-break systems are used in chess
Swiss system tournament
s to break ties between players who have the same total number of points after the last round. If the players are still tied after one tie-break system is used, another system is used, and so on, until the tie is broken. Most of the methods are numerical methods based on the games that have already been played or other objective factors, while some methods require additional games to be played, etc. The idea behind the methods based on the games already played is that the player that played the harder competition to achieve the same number of points should be ranked higher.
Harry Golombek
points out deficiencies in most of the tie-break systems and recommends a playoff if there is time. If not, he recommends Sonneborn-Berger and then the player who has the most wins. For Swiss tournaments, he recommends the Buchholz system
and the Cumulative system .
For Swiss chess
tournaments for individuals (not teams), FIDE recommends in an Annex to the FIDE Tournament Regulations regarding tiebreaks first the result of the direct encounter(s) between the players (if any), followed by the Tournament Performance Rating, the average rating of opponents and a playoff.
. For each player, this system sums the number of points earned by the player's opponents, but discarding the highest and lowest. If there are nine or more rounds, the top two and bottom two scores are discarded. Unplayed games by the opponents count ½ point. Unplayed games by the player count zero points. This is also known as the Median-Buchholz System
.
, and a loss; his round-by-round score will be 1, 1, 2, 2½, 2½. The sum of these numbers is 9. This system places more weight on games won in the early rounds and the least weight on games won in the final rounds. The rationale for this system is that a player who scored well early in the tournament has most likely faced tougher opponents in later rounds and should therefore be favored over a player who scored poorly in the start before subsequently scoring points against weaker opponents .
, this system awards four points for a win, two points for a draw, one point for a loss, and none for an unplayed game. As a result, if players with no unplayed games tie, the one with fewer draws finishes higher on the tie-break (i.e. a win and a loss is better than two draws) .
, but it was invented by Oscar Gelbfuhs . The system is the main tie-breaking system in round robin tournaments, but is also used in Swiss tournaments. It is also called the Neustadtl score
.
When the system is used to break ties between equally-scoring players, adding in the square of the player's raw score does no good, so the Sonneborn improvement is omitted. However, the system has retained the Sonneborn-Berger name .
of the player's opponents. The "performance rating" of a player is basically the rating he would receive if he had started the tournament without a rating .
If player A’s first loss was in round 4 and player B’s first loss was in round 2, player A gets priority. This was a tiebreaker used by POP
in 2004-2005.
.
, or Fast chess.
(USCF) recommends these as the first four tie-breaking methods to be used:
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
Swiss system tournament
Swiss system tournament
A Swiss-system tournament is a commonly used type of tournament where players or teams need to be paired to face each other for several rounds of competition. This type of tournament was first used in a Zurich chess tournament in 1895, hence the name "Swiss system". The Swiss system is used when...
s to break ties between players who have the same total number of points after the last round. If the players are still tied after one tie-break system is used, another system is used, and so on, until the tie is broken. Most of the methods are numerical methods based on the games that have already been played or other objective factors, while some methods require additional games to be played, etc. The idea behind the methods based on the games already played is that the player that played the harder competition to achieve the same number of points should be ranked higher.
Harry Golombek
Harry Golombek
Harry Golombek OBE , was a British chess International Master and honorary grandmaster, chess arbiter, and chess author. He was three times British chess champion, in 1947, 1949, and 1955 and finished second in 1948. He became a grandmaster in 1985.He was the chess correspondent of The Times...
points out deficiencies in most of the tie-break systems and recommends a playoff if there is time. If not, he recommends Sonneborn-Berger and then the player who has the most wins. For Swiss tournaments, he recommends the Buchholz system
Buchholz system
The Buchholz system is a ranking system in chess developed by Bruno Buchholz in 1932 in order to determine ranks in a Swiss system tournament where players have the same score...
and the Cumulative system .
For Swiss chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
tournaments for individuals (not teams), FIDE recommends in an Annex to the FIDE Tournament Regulations regarding tiebreaks first the result of the direct encounter(s) between the players (if any), followed by the Tournament Performance Rating, the average rating of opponents and a playoff.
Median
The Median system is also known as the Harkness System, after its inventor Kenneth HarknessKenneth Harkness
Kenneth Harkness was a chess organizer. He is the creator of the Harkness rating system.-Life and career:...
. For each player, this system sums the number of points earned by the player's opponents, but discarding the highest and lowest. If there are nine or more rounds, the top two and bottom two scores are discarded. Unplayed games by the opponents count ½ point. Unplayed games by the player count zero points. This is also known as the Median-Buchholz System
Buchholz system
The Buchholz system is a ranking system in chess developed by Bruno Buchholz in 1932 in order to determine ranks in a Swiss system tournament where players have the same score...
.
Modified Median
The Modified Median system is similar to the Median system, except:- Players with exactly 50% score are handled as in the regular Median system
- Players with more than 50% score have only their lowest-scoring opponent's score discarded
- Players with less than 50% score have only their highest-scoring opponent's score discarded .
Solkoff
This system is the same as the Median system, except that no scores are discarded . Ephraim Solkoff did not invent this system. He introduced it to the United States in 1950, but it was used in England prior to that .Cumulative
To calculate this, sum the running score for each round. For example, if a player has (in order) a win, loss, win, drawDraw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
, and a loss; his round-by-round score will be 1, 1, 2, 2½, 2½. The sum of these numbers is 9. This system places more weight on games won in the early rounds and the least weight on games won in the final rounds. The rationale for this system is that a player who scored well early in the tournament has most likely faced tougher opponents in later rounds and should therefore be favored over a player who scored poorly in the start before subsequently scoring points against weaker opponents .
Cumulative opponent's score
This sums the cumulative scores of the player's opponents .Result between tied players
If the tied players played each other, if one of them won then he finishes higher on tie-break .Most games with the black pieces
The player that had the black pieces the most times finishes highest on tie-breaks .Kashdan
Invented by Isaac KashdanIsaac Kashdan
Isaac Kashdan was an American chess grandmaster and chess writer. Kashdan was one of the world's best players in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was twice U.S. Open champion...
, this system awards four points for a win, two points for a draw, one point for a loss, and none for an unplayed game. As a result, if players with no unplayed games tie, the one with fewer draws finishes higher on the tie-break (i.e. a win and a loss is better than two draws) .
Sonneborn-Berger (Neustadtl score)
Add the scores of every opponent the player beats and half of the score of every opponent the player draws . The system was named after William Sonneborn and Johann BergerJohann Berger
Johann Nepomuk Berger was an Austrian chess master, theorist, endgame study composer, author and editor.In September 1870, he won the first tournament in the Austro-Hungarian Empire at Graz...
, but it was invented by Oscar Gelbfuhs . The system is the main tie-breaking system in round robin tournaments, but is also used in Swiss tournaments. It is also called the Neustadtl score
Neustadtl score
The Neustadtl score is a scoring system often used to break ties in chess tournaments. It is named after Hermann Neustadtl, who proposed it in a letter published in Chess Monthly in 1882....
.
History of the Sonneborn-Berger system
What we call the Sonneborn-Berger system was not invented by Sonneborn or Berger, and it was not originally designed for tie-breaking. It was invented by Oscar Gelbfuhs about 1873 to be used as a weighted score in round-robin tournaments. It would be used instead of the raw score for final places. In 1886 Sonneborn criticized the system and suggested an improvement that would give a better weighted score. His suggestion was to add the square of the player's points to the amount calculated as above. In 1887 and 1888 Berger studied Gelbfuhs' system and the suggestion of Sonneborn. This improvement became known as the Sonneborn-Berger system.When the system is used to break ties between equally-scoring players, adding in the square of the player's raw score does no good, so the Sonneborn improvement is omitted. However, the system has retained the Sonneborn-Berger name .
Opponent's performance
This method uses the average performance ratingElo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
of the player's opponents. The "performance rating" of a player is basically the rating he would receive if he had started the tournament without a rating .
Average rating of opposition
The average rating of the player's opponents .Time of loss
Among tied players, the player whose first loss came last gets priority.If player A’s first loss was in round 4 and player B’s first loss was in round 2, player A gets priority. This was a tiebreaker used by POP
Pokemon organized Play
Play! Pokémon formerly known as Pokémon Organized Play, often abbreviated as POP, is a division of The Pokémon Company. This division is for the Pokémon Trading Card Game and the Pokémon Trading Figure Game and was formed by Pokémon USA in 2003 after Wizards of the Coast lost its license to the...
in 2004-2005.
Tardiness
If a player arrives after the first round is paired, the player loses priority. This tiebreaker is currently used by POPPokemon organized Play
Play! Pokémon formerly known as Pokémon Organized Play, often abbreviated as POP, is a division of The Pokémon Company. This division is for the Pokémon Trading Card Game and the Pokémon Trading Figure Game and was formed by Pokémon USA in 2003 after Wizards of the Coast lost its license to the...
.
Speed play-off games
The tie is broken by one or more games played with fast time controlTime control
A time control is a mechanism in the tournament play of almost all two-player board games so that each round of the match can finish in a timely way and the tournament can proceed. Time controls are typically enforced by means of a game clock...
, or Fast chess.
Single fast game
FIDE rules provide for a single fast decisive game. Black gets five minutes on the clock whereas White gets six minutes but must win (i.e. a draw counts as a win for Black). The player who wins the draw of lots may choose which color he wants.Coin flip
As a last resort, ties are broken by a random process such as a coin flip .USCF recommended order
The U.S. Chess FederationUnited States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...
(USCF) recommends these as the first four tie-breaking methods to be used:
- Modified Median
- Solkoff
- Cumulative
- Cumulative opponent's score.