Can somebody please explain how the tie break scores work in chess...!!! I'm a chess lover but I never played tournaments before &, hard as I've tried, I haven't been able to work "that puzzle" out.

Cheers Chess Chasers

I can not find the forum where this was previously discussed, but here is the link to the explanation of it.  http://www.chess.com/tournaments/help.html#tiebreak

So does that mean if you defeat strong players that you get more tie break points than if you defeat weak players? 

Marshal_Dillon wrote: So does that mean if you defeat strong players that you get more tie break points than if you defeat weak players? 

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No,  You get more points if you defeat a player who has more wins in your tournament.  If you score a win against player A and he has a total of 5 points you get 5 tie break points.  If you win against player B and she has a total of 3.5 points then you get 3.5 tie break points.  If you play a player twice and you win both times then you take their points and multiply it by 2. Draws count as a half of point so a single draw will earn you their points times .5, i.e. player A with 5 points you draw against you now receive 2.5 tie break points.

Tie break points are dynamic until all play has finished, because as your opponent gains more points your tie break points increases as well provided you have a win or a draw against them.

So, if you win 2 games before the rest of the players, anyone who defeat you gets the tie break points? I guess you should wait to make the final move untill your opponent has defeated someone first.

No, they change as every game is finished. It does not matter what order they finish in. If the games finish 1,2,3 everyone will have the same number of points and tiebreak points as if it finished 3,2,1.

I am greatful for the explanations given on here. I almost regreted wing first in my tournament group.

 

thanx for asking the question and thank you for replying.

Wot is the point in tie breaks tho? is it if two people have the same amount of tiebreak points after all the games in the tournament have been played they have to play again for top place spot?

thanks

In that case, both continue to the next round.I've seen it happen in a few tournaments.

Thank you all for your comments. It helped

NMReb

Thank you for your very detailed and clear explanation! Still helpfull after 3 years :) and probably always will be. Thanks.

If you win on points but lose on tie break points- do you still win? 

it is impossible to win on points but lose on tie break. cause you would have won more games than anyone in your group.

Really? Look at my group- http://www.chess.com/tournament/14th-chesscom-thematic-tournament---nimzowitsch-defense-1401-1600

I may have it wrong but it seems that if mjpolentz beats me twice, he gets 2x8, and if he beats Twallin twice he gets 2x4.5.. adding to his present tie break score of 10.5 he would have 35.5, beating my tie break of 30. But i would have won 8/10 and he would have won 7/10..

does this make sense or have i messed something up? And if it is right, i just wanted someone to confirm that tiebreak score is disregarded if there is a winner on normal score..

 

thanks

ah, i have found my answer: http://www.chess.com/tournaments/pairings.html?id=37025&round=1&page=3

The winner in this group was beaten on tiebreak points but won on normal points 

That's cause tie breaks are only considered when two players have the same amount of points.

Does it matter how you win?  As in do you lose points if you resign than if you just get checkmated?

I don't think that makes any difference...!

What if you beat someone but they leave the tourney before it is finished? are you just out of luck?