Tiebreak Calculator
Calculate Buchholz, Buchholz Cut-1, Median Buchholz, Sonneborn-Berger and progressive score from your round-by-round results.
Why tiebreaks exist
Swiss-system tournaments almost always end with players level on points, and prizes, trophies and qualification places need an order. Tiebreaks rank players with the same score by the quality of their results. The tournament regulations must announce which tiebreaks apply and in what order before the event starts; FIDE's 2023 tiebreak regulations list the standard methods and how to handle unplayed games.
Buchholz and its variants
Buchholz, the most common Swiss tiebreak, is the sum of the final scores of all your opponents. It rewards a player who reached the same score against stronger opposition. A player who scored 5 from 7 against opponents finishing on 4, 5½, 3, 6, 4½, 5 and 3½ has a Buchholz of 31.5. Buchholz Cut-1 removes the lowest opponent score, giving 28.5, which reduces the effect of an unlucky pairing against a player who withdrew or lost every game. Median Buchholz removes both the highest and lowest, giving 22.5. A common misconception is that Buchholz depends on your own results; it does not, which is why it is often combined with Sonneborn-Berger.
Sonneborn-Berger
Sonneborn-Berger weights each opponent's score by your result against them: the full score of opponents you beat, half the score of those you drew with and nothing for those you lost to. In the example, that is 4 + 2.75 + 3 + 0 + 4.5 + 2.5 + 3.5 = 20.25. It rewards beating the players who did well, and it is the standard first tiebreak in round-robin events, where every player meets the same opponents and Buchholz would be identical for everyone.
Progressive score
The progressive, or cumulative, score adds your running total after each round: a player who wins, draws, wins, loses, wins, draws and wins has running scores of 1, 1½, 2½, 2½, 3½, 4 and 5, summing to 20. It favours players who scored early and therefore faced stronger opponents later in the event. The same results in a different order, a loss in round 1 followed by the rest, give only 18, which is the point: Buchholz and Sonneborn-Berger are identical for both sequences, but the progressive score separates them. Other tiebreaks include direct encounter, number of wins, number of games with Black and average rating of opponents.
How to use it
- Enter your result in each round, in order.
- Enter each opponent's final score at the end of the tournament.
- Leave byes and unplayed games out, or check how the event's rules score them.
- Read Buchholz, Cut-1, Median, Sonneborn-Berger and the progressive score.
Questions from the tournament hall
How is Buchholz calculated in chess?
Add up the final scores of every opponent you played. If your seven opponents finished on 4, 5½, 3, 6, 4½, 5 and 3½ points, your Buchholz is 31.5. Buchholz Cut-1 drops the lowest of those scores and Median Buchholz drops the highest and lowest.
What is the Sonneborn-Berger score?
The sum of the final scores of the opponents you beat plus half the final scores of those you drew with. Losses add nothing. It rewards good results against the strongest finishers and is the usual first tiebreak in round-robin tournaments.
Which tiebreak is used first in a Swiss tournament?
Whatever the tournament regulations announce in advance. Buchholz Cut-1 and full Buchholz are the most common first tiebreaks in Swiss events, often followed by Sonneborn-Berger, direct encounter or number of wins. Check the event rules.
How are byes and forfeits counted in tiebreaks?
Under FIDE's 2023 tiebreak regulations, unplayed games are usually handled with a virtual opponent whose score is set by specific rules, rather than counting the actual absent player. Different events may use older methods, so check the published regulations.
Disclaimer: Chess results apply FIDE's published rating, title and tiebreak rules to the figures you enter. They are not official ratings, norm certificates or tournament rulings. FIDE's published lists, the event's regulations and the chief arbiter decide; national federations and online servers use their own rating systems.