How the Sonneborn–Berger is used in County Championship tables
As posted in notes this is how the Sonneborn–Berger is calculated.
‘The Sonneborn–Berger score (or the Neustadtl score) is a scoring system often used to break ties in chess tournaments. It is computed by summing the conventional score of each defeated opponent, and half the conventional score of each drawn opponent.’
In practice, for conventional OTB tournaments, this would be calculated and published after each round is completed to decide tie-breaks for equal match points.
As daily, 3 days per move, team matches on Chess.com have multiple rounds running concurrently and with no fixed definitive end point a slightly different approach for publishing tables has been adopted. This has no adverse consequences for the final tables or positioning of teams.
The method used assumes that all ‘in progress’ matches have league points gained even if neither team has actually reached a winning match score at that point in time. The SB points are then calculated on the assumption that the final match points will be awarded as per the current match position.
In the early stages of the league matches this method assigns tie-break points for unfinished matches to facilitate easier sorting of league tables and is only indicative of team progress.
As the league progresses and matches reach a conclusion, then the SB calculation becomes definitive and relevant for confirming league position should head to head not produce a result.
How the Sonneborn–Berger is used in County Championship tables
As posted in notes this is how the Sonneborn–Berger is calculated.
‘The Sonneborn–Berger score (or the Neustadtl score) is a scoring system often used to break ties in chess tournaments. It is computed by summing the conventional score of each defeated opponent, and half the conventional score of each drawn opponent.’
In practice, for conventional OTB tournaments, this would be calculated and published after each round is completed to decide tie-breaks for equal match points.
As daily, 3 days per move, team matches on Chess.com have multiple rounds running concurrently and with no fixed definitive end point a slightly different approach for publishing tables has been adopted. This has no adverse consequences for the final tables or positioning of teams.
The method used assumes that all ‘in progress’ matches have league points gained even if neither team has actually reached a winning match score at that point in time. The SB points are then calculated on the assumption that the final match points will be awarded as per the current match position.
In the early stages of the league matches this method assigns tie-break points for unfinished matches to facilitate easier sorting of league tables and is only indicative of team progress.
As the league progresses and matches reach a conclusion, then the SB calculation becomes definitive and relevant for confirming league position should head to head not produce a result.
Hope that clarifies the current methodology.