How are ties broken in team chess?
I · Intermediate · Captains, results and disputes · 4 of 4Teams level on match points are separated by tie-breaks set out before the event. At the Olympiad the first is a score that multiplies the game points won against each opponent by that opponent's final match points. The second is total game points. If teams are still level, they stay tied.
How it works
- Announced in advance: the event's regulations list the tie-breaks in order.
- Olympiad first tie-break: for each opponent, game points scored against it multiplied by its final match points, added up. The weakest opponent is left out.
- Olympiad second tie-break: game points scored.
- Olympiad third tie-break: the match points of the opponents, leaving out the weakest.
- Still level: the teams remain tied and share the higher place.
- In a knockout match: FIDE's regulations offer board count, top board results and bottom board elimination.
- Board count: each board's game points multiplied by its board number. The lower total ranks higher.
- Top board results: the result on board one decides, then board two.
- Bottom board elimination: the bottom board is dropped and the rest counted again.
The glossary has the scoring, the board, the Swiss system, the draw, the Elo rating and the FIDE body.
Tricky cases
Two teams finish level on match points, and one of them beat the other. Does that decide it?
No, not at the Olympiad. Its tie-breaks do not use the result between the two teams.
A knockout match ends 2-2, with one team winning on board one and the other on board four. Who goes through on board count?
The team that won on board one. Its points came from lower-numbered boards, so its total is lower.
Two teams are still level after every Olympiad tie-break. Is there a play-off?
No. They "shall remain tied" and both are given the higher place.
Does beating the weakest team 4-0 help in the first tie-break?
No, if that team finishes as the lowest-scoring opponent. Its match is excluded from the sum.
Why the rule exists
In a Swiss event teams do not all meet the same opponents, so equal match points do not mean equal achievement. The Olympiad's first tie-break rewards a team for scoring heavily against opponents who did well. The knockout tie-breaks all lean the same way: wins on the higher boards count for more.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Chess Olympiad | Three tie-breaks in order, then the teams stay tied | Olympiad 2026 Regulations, Appendix 2.I |
| Combined open and women's classification | Sum of places, then four tie-breaks | Olympiad 2026 Regulations 4.5.2; Appendix 2.II |
| Team knockouts | Board count, top board results or bottom board elimination | Play-Off and Tie-Break Regulations 12 |
| Other team events | The organiser chooses from FIDE's list or defines its own | Play-Off and Tie-Break Regulations 4.1; 13 |
From the rule book
FIDE, Chess Olympiad 2026: Regulations for the Main Competition, Article 4.5 and Appendix 2. FIDE, Play-Off and Tie-Break Regulations (applied from 1 March 2026), Articles 2, 4 and 11 to 13. Checked 14 October 2026. Official documents: FIDE Handbook sections C.05, C.07, C.10 and D.02.