--- title: "Sonneborn-Berger in chess" url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sonneborn-berger.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/sonneborn-berger" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "Sonneborn-Berger is a tiebreak that adds, for every game, the opponent's final score multiplied by the points you took from them." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/buchholz.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/round-robin.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-round-robin.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Sonneborn-Berger in chess > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. Sonneborn-Berger is a tiebreak that adds, for every game, the opponent's final score multiplied by the points you took from them. Sonneborn-Berger is a tiebreak that adds, for every game, the opponent's final score multiplied by the points you took from them, so a win over a high finisher counts far more than a win over a low one. Sonneborn-Berger, shortened to SB, asks a different question from [Buchholz](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/buchholz.md). Buchholz asks how strong your opponents were. SB asks how well you did against the strong ones. For each opponent, multiply their final score by what you got from them: one for a win, a half for a draw, nothing for a loss. Then add up the products. A small picture helps. Suppose two players finish level, and one of them beat the winner and the runner-up while the other beat players from the bottom half. The first has large products and the second small ones, so the first ranks ahead. A draw with the top finisher is worth half of that finisher's score, and a loss is worth nothing however strong the opponent was. FIDE's [tie-break](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md) regulations define SB exactly this way and offer a Cut-1 version that leaves out the contribution from the lowest-scoring opponent. SB can be used in [round robins](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/round-robin.md), where Buchholz is not allowed, and [team events](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/team-event.md) use extended forms that combine match points and game points. It needs the opponents' final scores, so it is known only when the event is over. Read tiebreak, buchholz and round robin to compare them. A neighboring idea is [Double round robin](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-round-robin.md). A double round-robin tournament is a round-robin format in which every pair of players meets twice, once with each color, so each player plays every opponent as both White and Black. Rating and title terms like "Sonneborn-Berger" matter once you know your next step, and the [improvement plans by rating band](https://georgelichess.com/improve.md) set out a weekly routine for each rating range. ## Related terms - [Tiebreak](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md) - [Buchholz](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/buchholz.md) - [Round robin](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/round-robin.md) - [Double round robin](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-round-robin.md) - [Swiss system](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md) ## Guides that go further - [Chess ratings explained](https://georgelichess.com/chess-ratings-explained.md): What a rating measures, how FIDE, Lichess, US Chess and chess.com compute theirs, and why the numbers differ. - [FIDE chess titles](https://georgelichess.com/titles.md): How the Candidate Master, FIDE Master, International Master and Grandmaster titles are earned, with every Handbook clause. - [How to get a FIDE rating](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-get-a-fide-rating.md): The Handbook rules for a first FIDE rating: five rated games, the 1400 floor, the two 1800 draws and a worked example. ## Sources - FIDE Handbook C.07 Play-Off and Tie-Break Regulations, effective 1 March 2026 (Articles 9.1, 13.2 and 14.1), read 2026-10-21: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/TieBreakRegulations032026 [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md) and George Li reviews your games and builds a study plan around them. Questions about lessons: write to hello@georgelichess.com. ## Related - [Tiebreak in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/tiebreak.md) - [Buchholz in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/buchholz.md) - [Round robin in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/round-robin.md) - [Double round robin in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/double-round-robin.md) - [Swiss system in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/swiss-system.md) - [Chess terms: Tournaments, ratings and titles](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/category/tournaments-ratings-titles.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)