When two players finish on the same points, the standings still need an order — for trophies, qualification, and pairing the next round. Tiebreaks are the extra columns after Pts. Chess Republic Arena uses FIDE Handbook C.07 systems. Organisers choose which ones apply, and in which order.
Step 1
Points first
The player with more game points always ranks higher. Tiebreaks only start if points are equal.
Step 2
Then the list
The first tiebreak that is not equal decides the rank. The rest are ignored for that pair.
Step 3
Order matters
Buchholz first versus wins first can swap two tied players. That choice is set when the event is created.
Default order in Arena
New events use all 10 FIDE systems in this sequence (organisers can reorder or remove):
Ava and Chloe both finish on 3.5 / 4. Direct encounter is a draw, they have the same number of wins, and they scored at the same speed — so default ranking is decided by Buchholz. Chloe had a first-round bye; Ava played a full field. Ava's opponents scored more, so she takes 1st.
Round 1
Ava Chen vs Dylan Patel1-0
Ben Walsh vs Elena Rossi1-0
Chloe Ng vs byeBye
Round 2
Ava Chen vs Ben Walsh1-0
Chloe Ng vs Dylan Patel1-0
Elena Rossi vs byeBye
Round 3
Ava Chen vs Elena Rossi1-0
Ben Walsh vs Chloe Ng0-1
Dylan Patel vs byeBye
Round 4
Ava Chen vs Chloe Ng½-½
Ben Walsh vs Dylan Patel1-0
Elena Rossi vs byeBye
Rank
Player
Pts
DE
BH
BH-C1
Med BH
Prog
Wins
SB
W+B
AOR
Rating
1
Ava Chen
3.5
0.5
8.5
7.5
4
9.5
3
6.75
0
1230
1420
2
Chloe Ng
3.5
0.5
6.5
5.5
2
9.5
3
4.75
1
1267
1350
3
Ben Walsh
2
1
10
9
5.5
5
2
3
0
1265
1280
4
Elena Rossi
2
0
5.5
3.5
0
4
2
0
0
1350
1190
5
Dylan Patel
1
0
9
7
3.5
2
1
0
0
1350
1100
Highlighted rows are the 3.5-point tie. Compare BH: Ava's field was stronger, so she ranks first. If the organiser had put Wins with Black first, Chloe would rank above Ava — she won as Black in round 3.
C.07.2.1 · DE
Direct encounter
Standings column: DE
If the tied players already played each other, the one who scored more in those games ranks higher. It is the 'head-to-head' tiebreak.
How it is counted
Look only at games among the players who finished on the same points. Add up what each of them scored against the others. Players who never met score 0 here, and ranking moves to the next tiebreak.
Who it favours
The player who beat (or scored better against) the people they are tied with.
Three players finish on 4 points
Maya, Noah, and Priya are tied. Their games against each other were: Maya beat Noah, Maya drew Priya, Noah beat Priya.
Player
vs Maya
vs Noah
vs Priya
Direct encounter
Maya
—
1
½
1.5
Noah
0
—
1
1
Priya
½
0
—
0.5
Maya ranks first of the three (1.5), then Noah (1), then Priya (0.5) — even though all three have 4 points.
C.07.2.2 · BH
Buchholz
Standings column: BH
Add up the final scores of everyone you played. A higher total means you faced a tougher field.
How it is counted
For each opponent, take their tournament points at the end of the event and add them together. A bye is not an opponent, so it does not add to Buchholz — players who received a bye usually have a lower Buchholz than someone who played every round.
Who it favours
Players who were paired against stronger (higher-scoring) opponents.
Ava and Ben both finish on 3 points
After four rounds they have the same score. Buchholz looks at how their opponents finished.
Player
Opponent scores
Buchholz
Ava
4 + 3 + 2.5 + 1
10.5
Ben
3.5 + 2.5 + 2 + 1.5
9.5
Ava ranks above Ben. Her opponents scored more, so her 3 points were earned against a harder field.
C.07.2.3 · BH-C1
Buchholz Cut 1
Standings column: BH-C1
Buchholz, but ignore your weakest opponent. One very low-scoring opponent (a withdrawal, or someone who had a poor event) should not decide the ranking by itself.
How it is counted
Calculate full Buchholz, then subtract the lowest opponent score. The rest of the field still counts.
Who it favours
Players who had one unusually weak pairing, without throwing away the rest of their opposition.
Ava played someone who scored 0
Full Buchholz punishes Ava for that one opponent. Cut 1 drops the 0 and compares the rest of the field.
Player
Opponent scores
Buchholz
Cut 1 (drop lowest)
Ava
4, 3.5, 3, 0
10.5
10.5
Ben
3.5, 3, 2.5, 2
11
9
Full Buchholz would rank Ben higher (11 vs 10.5). After cutting the 0, Ava ranks higher (10.5 vs 9). That is the point of Cut 1.
Variant · Med BH
Median Buchholz
Standings column: Med BH
Ignore both your strongest and your weakest opponent, then add the scores in the middle. It trims pairing luck at both ends.
How it is counted
Take all opponent scores, drop the highest and the lowest, and sum what remains. If a player has fewer than two opponents, Median Buchholz equals full Buchholz.
Who it favours
Players with a consistently strong field, not just one standout (or one very weak) pairing.
Five-round event, both on 3.5
Drop the best and worst opponent from each list, then add the middle three.
Player
Opponent scores
Drop
Median Buchholz
Ava
4, 3, 2.5, 2, 1
4 and 1
7.5
Ben
3.5, 3.5, 3, 2, 1.5
3.5 and 1.5
8.5
Ben ranks higher. His 'middle' opposition was stronger once the extremes are removed.
C.07.2.4 · Prog
Progressive scores
Standings column: Prog
Reward players who scored earlier in the event. After every round, write down the running total; then add those running totals together.
How it is counted
Round 1 score becomes the first running total. After round 2, add that game to the running total, and so on. Progressive is the sum of those running totals. Front-loaded wins usually mean the player stayed on higher boards.
Who it favours
Players who started well, rather than those who recovered with a late surge.
Same 3 points, different timing
Five rounds. Ava won early; Ben recovered later. Both finish on 3.
Player
Round scores
Running totals
Progressive
Ava
1, 1, ½, 0, ½
1, 2, 2.5, 2.5, 3
11
Ben
0, ½, 1, 1, ½
0, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3
7.5
Ava ranks higher (11 vs 7.5). She had more points sitting on the board for more of the tournament.
C.07.2.5 · Wins
Number of wins
Standings column: Wins
Simply count how many games were won. Draws do not count. Byes and forfeit wins do count.
How it is counted
Each result of 1 point from a win, bye, or forfeit adds 1 to this column. Two players can share the same points with different win counts if one drew more often.
Who it favours
Players who played for a win instead of collecting draws.
Both finish on 3.5
Ava mixed wins and a loss. Ben drew a lot.
Player
Results
Points
Wins
Ava
3 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss
3.5
3
Ben
2 wins, 3 draws
3.5
2
Ava ranks higher because she won more games, even though the points are equal.
C.07.2.6 · SB
Sonneborn–Berger
Standings column: SB
Wins against strong players count more than wins against weak players. Draws count as half of that opponent's score.
How it is counted
For every opponent: (your score in that game) × (that opponent's final points). Add those products. A win against someone on 4 is worth 4; a draw against them is worth 2; a loss is worth 0.
Who it favours
Players whose points came from beating (or drawing) higher-scoring opponents.
Quality of results, not just the field
Ava and Ben both have 3 points, but Ava beat stronger players.
Player
Results vs final scores
Sonneborn–Berger
Ava
Won vs 3, won vs 2, drew vs 4, lost vs 3.5
3 + 2 + 2 = 7
Ben
Won vs 1.5, drew vs 3, drew vs 4, lost vs 3
1.5 + 1.5 + 2 = 5
Ava ranks higher. Buchholz only asks who you played; Sonneborn–Berger asks how you scored against them.
C.07.2.7 · W+B
Wins with Black
Standings column: W+B
Count only wins scored with the black pieces. Black is the harder colour, so those wins are treated as a sign of strength.
How it is counted
A win as White, a draw, a bye, or a forfeit win as White does not add to this column. Only a full point scored while playing Black does.
Who it favours
Players who won games from the more difficult colour.
Both have 3 wins
Ava's wins were all with White. Chloe won once with Black.
Player
Wins
Wins with Black
Chloe
3
1
Ava
3
0
Chloe ranks higher on this tiebreak. Organisers who put it late in the list only use it if earlier systems are still tied.
AROC · AOR
Average opponent rating
Standings column: AOR
The average rating of the players you faced. Byes are skipped because there is no opponent.
How it is counted
Add the ratings of every opponent, then divide by the number of opponents. Arena rounds that mean to a whole number.
Who it favours
Players who were paired against higher-rated opposition.
Same score, different ratings faced
Four games each. Ratings are the opponents' ratings before the event.
Player
Opponent ratings
Average
Ava
1600, 1450, 1380, 1200
1408
Ben
1500, 1480, 1320, 1100
1350
Ava ranks higher. This system uses ratings, not tournament scores, so it can differ from Buchholz.
Common · Rating
Initial rating
Standings column: Rating
The rating each player brought to the event. Used last — only if every earlier tiebreak is still equal.
How it is counted
Compare starting ratings. The higher-rated player ranks above the lower-rated player. If ratings are equal too, Arena falls back to rating again as a final sort (in practice the arbiter may draw lots).
Who it favours
The higher-rated player. It is a last resort, not a measure of what happened in this event.
Nothing else separates them
Ava and Ben are still tied after every performance tiebreak.
Player
Points
Starting rating
Ava
3
1420
Ben
3
1280
Ava ranks higher on rating. Many organisers keep this at the end of the list, or omit it.
Reading a live standings table
Pts is always the rank that matters first.
Column letters (DE, BH, SB…) are the tiebreaks this event is using, in order from left to right.
Only compare those extra columns when two players have the same points. A lower Buchholz does not overtake a higher score.
Organisers set the list under event setup. Changing the order can change who is 1st when scores are tied — it never changes the points themselves.