What happens if Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa end up with same points today?
Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa lead the standings of the Tata Steel masters section with the final round to go on Sunday. While Gukesh will take on Chess Olympiad teammate Arjun Erigaisi in the 13th round today, Praggnanandhaa will take on Gukesh’s World Championship second Vincent Keymer.
So what happens if both players end up with the same result? It also needs to be pointed out that Nodirbek Abdusattarov is one point behind, which means that if Nodirbek wins today’s game and both Indian players lose, the tournament winner will be decided a three-player tiebreak.
Here are what the tiebreak rules state at Tata Steel Masters with Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa tied on 8.5 points with one game left (and with Nodirbek Abdusattarov one point behind).
Story continues below this ad
Gukesh in Round 12 of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. (PHOTO: Jurriaan Hoefsmit via Tata Steel chess)
Tata Steel Chess tiebreak format and time control
The time control of the tiebreak games is 3 minutes with a 2 seconds increment per move as of the first move, with an exception for ‘sudden death’ tiebreak games. The time control of the ‘sudden death’ tiebreak games is 2½ minutes for white and 3 minutes for black with a 2 seconds increment per move as of the first move for both players.
The tiebreak games will be played as soon as possible after all (potential) players in the tiebreak games have finished their games in the main tournament. Every player will have a minimum rest period of 30 minutes before the start of the tiebreak games.
In principle, there will not be a rest period between tiebreak games, i.e. the next games will be played as soon as possible. However, the chief arbiter may decide on granting a limited rest period.
Praggnanandhaa in Round 12 of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. (PHOTO: Jurriaan Hoefsmit via Tata Steel chess)
What happens if there are two players in tiebreaks?Story continues below this ad
If there are two players in the tiebreak, the following playing schedule will apply: A play-off match of two games will be played. A drawing of lots will decide which player will start with white. If the play-off match results in a tie, a ‘sudden death’ game will be played. If this game is a draw, the next ‘sudden death’ game will be played. This will continue until a player wins a game. A drawing of lots will decide which player will start with white. The other player will play white in the next two ‘sudden death’ games. After three ‘sudden death games’ the first player will play white in the next two games, and so on.
What happens if there are three players in tiebreaks?
If there are three players in the tiebreak, the following playing schedule will apply:A single round robin tournament (following the Berger tables) will be played. A drawing of lots will decide the pairing numbers. If there is a tie with three players in the play-off tournament, a new single round robin tournament will be played, with the colours reversed. If there is a tie with three players in the play-off tournament, a new single round robin will be played. This continues until one or two player(s) win(s) the play-off tournament. If there is a tie with two players in the play-off tournament, the tie break games continue.
