In chess, a tie break is used when two or more players have the same score at the end of a round in a tournament. The following are some of the most common tie-breaking methods used in chess tournaments, listed from top to bottom, moving down the list only if there is still a tie after using the previous method:
- Number of wins with black: The player with the highest number of wins with the black pieces breaks the tie.
- AROC 1: This stands for Average Rating of Opponents Cut 1. The player with the highest AROC 1 score wins.
- Buchholz Cut 1: This is the sum of the scores of each players opponents, excluding the lowest scoring opponent. The player with the highest Buchholz Cut 1 score wins.
- Buchholz: This is the sum of the scores of each player's opponents. The player with the highest Buchholz score wins.
- Sonneborn-Berger: This method gives the win to the player who has defeated the players with the most tournament points.
The tie-breaker score is based on wins/draws against all other players. In some tournaments, tie-break points are awarded based on the number of wins, draws, and losses, with more points awarded for wins and fewer points for losses. If all tie-breaking methods fail to break the tie, the prize money may be divided equally among the tied players.
