Tie-break advice

[Paul Buswell]

Advice, opinion, comments invited....

I control a recently re-established 4-board team KO. Teams are of maximum grade average 150, with players <100 being deemed = 100.

Altering the fundamental structure of the event is not on the agenda, but any thoughts on how the tie break should run?

Normally one looks at board count, but it seems to me that if Team A plays as say 200/200/100/100 and Team B as say 150/150/150/150 then Team A has an inbuilt advantage on likely board coumt, and also if we go straight to bottom board(s) elimination rule.

I realise those comments could apply to any 'average grade' KO, but it's far more obvious in a 4-board event.

I suppose other possibilities would be:
Lowest total of grades wins
Black on odds wins
Rapid play immediate replay
Standard play replay on a new date

But all of those just seem to replicate the original problem in one way or another, although total grades would be less likely to match I suppose.

Ideas?

Thank you

PB

[Roger de Coverly]

But all of those just seem to replicate the original problem in one way or another, although total grades would be less likely to match I suppose.

Lowest graded aggregate wins with the other tiebreak applying only if total grades are exactly equal. Arguably that's more appropriate if there's a handicap as well. The controller would have to assign grades to ungraded players anyway in order to establish their eligibility. Alternatively the rules might restrict the competition to players with published grades.

[Angus French]

How about board count with elimination of boards from the top?

edit: Originally I wrote "bottom" but I meant "top".

[Derek Pugh]

Might lowest average grade be better than lowest total grade to cater for the situation where there is a default?

[Sean Hewitt]

fewest defaults, then lowest total grade.

[David Gilbert]

Just toss a coin!

[Paul Buswell]

Thank you for comments received, I will mull over.

PB