http://www.chess.com/tournaments/help#tiebreak
What is a tie break?
It can be used to determine which player advances when there is a tie score. In a tie score, the person with the higher tie break score advances.

In London is a fair where this wonderful girl that makes wooden ties that can bend into pieces
On the picture, you see her pull her tie into different pieces !!!

Actually, and the last post was funny, I believe that when two players have the same score at the end of a tournament they total the scores of all the players they won against and add to that HALF the total scores of those they drew with. I think thats it. I asked just before a started a fischer random (chess 960) tournamrnt Im in. Thats how I understand it. But i just went 6-0 in the first part of the tourny so i wouldnt have to worry about it, its s much simpler that way.....
I hope I am not the only one that does not really understand what it is?
When you look at the ranking in a tournament, you will see these 'things' count as well... But why? And what are they?