Forfeit win

A forfeit win is awarded when the rules require the opponent to lose and the player receives the win without the board deciding the game in the usual way. It may happen before the first move, for example when the opponent arrives after the default time, or during the round after an offence that carries loss of the game. The arbiter, the official who applies the competition rules, confirms the result.

Unless the event rules use a different scoring system, a win or win by forfeit scores one point. In reports for unplayed games, +/- means that White wins by forfeit and -/+ means that Black wins by forfeit. These are result codes, not moves on the board.

A win awarded without play does not count toward the rating of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the official numerical measure of playing strength. It can still count in the standings and in specified tie-break calculations, methods used to rank players who finish with the same score. The opponent receives the corresponding forfeit loss.