Resistance, also known as Buchholz in some tournament systems, is a measure used to assess the difficulty of the opponents a player has faced in a Swiss round tournament. It is essential for deciding between players with the same number of victory points.
1. What is resistance?
Resistance is calculated by adding up the final victory points of the opponents a player has faced during the tournament. This figure reflects the “strength” of a player’s opponents: the better the opponents, the higher their final score, and therefore the greater a player’s resistance will be.
- Example:
A player faced three opponents who finished the tournament with the following points: 3, 5 and 4.
His resistance is therefore: 3+5+4=12
2. Why is resistance important?
Resistance is used as a tie-breaking criterion when several players have the same number of victory points. It allows players to be differentiated according to the difficulty of their matches.
Advantage of a fair system:
A player who has faced strong opponents (with high resistance) will be ranked ahead of a player who has faced weak opponents (with low resistance), even if their victory points are identical. This prevents a player being favored solely by easier pairings.
Application example:
Suppose two players both have 4 victory points after several rounds.
- Player A: Resistance of 14.
- Player B: Resistance of 10.
Player A will be ranked ahead of Player B, because his opponents were more competitive overall.
Resistance is a key tool in Swiss round tournaments. It ensures a fairer ranking by rewarding not only the number of victories, but also the quality of the opponents played. This mechanism better reflects players’ overall performance in a competitive environment.