Tiebreaks and Playoff Procedures

Playoff Procedures

1. If the 2010 U.S. Championship ends in a tie for first, all tied Players will contest a playoff match for the title of 2010 U.S. Champion. Prize monies for all Players tied for first place shall be pooled and $5,000 of those pooled funds shall be awarded to the 2010 U.S. Champion with all remaining monies from the pooled fund being equally divided amongst all tied Players. (For example, if there is a tie for 1st and 2nd, the U.S. Champion shall receive $30,000 and the runner-up shall receive $25,000).

2. 4th Place Playoff Rules: If after seven rounds, there are ties for the four places into the Championship Quad Final, a 4th place playoff shall take place on the rest day May 21, starting at 2 PM. See 4th Place Playoff Rules below.

3. 1st Place Ties: In the event that there is no clear U.S. Champion after the Championship Quad Final, there will be a playoff for U.S. Champion. (See 1st Place Playoff Rules below).

4. Tiebreaks: For the purposes of ordering the crosstable, and if there are any special prizes for 5th place in the Swiss tournament, the following tiebreaks shall be used: 1. Most Blacks; 2. USCF Tournament Performance Rating; 3. Direct Encounter; 4. Won Games; 5. Average USCF Rating of Opponents.

1st Place Playoff Rules:

If the 2009 U.S. Championship ends in a tie for first, all tied players will contest a playoff match for the title of 2010 U.S. Champion and a bonus $5,000 to be taken from the prizefund. The tiebreak will take place at 10 AM on May 25. For the purposes of pairing players in the following scenarios, the following math tiebreaks will be used: 1. Most Blacks; 2. USCF Tournament Performance Rating; 3. Direct Encounter; 4. Won Games; 5. Average Rating of Opponents. (If there is no need for a playoff, these tiebreaks will also be used for the purposes of trophies/crosstable).

A. Two Players:

The base time for the game is 60 minutes+ 5 second increment. It will be a draw odds game (Black wins on a draw.) The Players will both bid on the amount of time (minutes and seconds, a number equal or less to 60:00) that they are willing to play with in order to choose their color. The Player who bid the lower number of time chooses his or her color and is allowed the amount of time they bid; the other side shall receive 60:00 time. If both Players pick exactly the same number, the chief arbiter will flip a coin to determine who shall choose their color.

B. Three players:

If there are three Players tied for first, the Player with the highest tie-breaks has the option of a bye in the first round. If he or she chooses to play the first round, the bye will be passed onto the next Player by tiebreak, and if the second Player by tiebreak also declines the bye, the third Player shall have a bye in the first round.

Round One:

Players ranked 2 and 3 by tie-break will contest a draw odds game as described in Section A. above except the base time will be 40 minutes+ 5 second increment.

Final round for Championship title:

After a ten minute break, the winner of round one will play the Player with a bye in another 40+5 increment draw odds game. This will not be a bidding game. The Player who won round one will chose whether he or she prefers white or black and draw odds.

C. Four Players:

Round One

Tie-breaks will be used to determine pairing numbers: 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3. Each Player will contest two preliminary 40+5 second increment bidding games as described above.

Final round for Championship title: 

After a ten-minute break, the winners of each game in round one will contest a final 40+5 second increment draw odds bidding game.

4th Place Playoff Rules:

All tiebreakers to make the Championship Quad Final will use a knockout elimination format using 40 minute+5 second increment bidding games as described above in the 1st Place Playoff Rules. Pairing numbers for the scenarios below will be determined by math tiebreaks: 1. Most Blacks; 2. USCF Tournament Performance Rating; 3. Direct Encounter; 4. Won Games; 5. Average USCF Rating of Opponents.

If two Players are tied for one spot: the Players will play each other to qualify for the Championship Quad Final.

If three Players are tied for one spot, 2 will play 3 in round one. The winner of round one shall play the Player who had a bye in round one for the spot. If three Players are tied for two spots, then 1 will automatically qualify for the quad, while 2 will play 3 for the last spot.

If four Players are tied for one spot, 1 shall play 4 and 2 shall play 3. The winners shall play each other to qualify for the Championship Quad Final. If four Players are tied for two spots, 1 will play 4, 2 will play 3, and the winners will both automatically qualify. If four Players are tied for three spots, 1 and 2 will automatically qualify, while 3 plays 4 for the final spot.

If five Players are tied for one spot, 5 will play 4 while Players 1-3 will get a bye into round two. In round two, 1 plays the winner of 4 vs.5 and 2 plays 3. In round three, the round two winners play for the Championship spot. If five Players are tied for two spots, in round 1, 5 will play 4 while Players 1-3 get byes. In round two, the winner of 5 vs.4 will play 1 and 2 will play 3. The winners advance to the Championship Quad Final. If five Players are tied for three spots, Player 1 advances to the quad automatically. The other four Players are ranked 1-4, 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3 and the winners advance. If five Players are tied for four spots, Players 1-3 advance to the Championship Quad Final while 4 plays 5 for the final spot. 

If more than 5 Players are tied, a tiebreak using similar rules as the examples shown above will be used. Please contact CHESS CLUB for further details. Any questions regarding 4th place tiebreaks will also be addressed at the Players’ Meeting.