Perfect Tournament Performance

Perfect Tournament Performance, abbreviated PTP, is a rating-based tie-break. A tie-break is a rule used to order participants who finish on the same score, and a rating is a numerical estimate of playing strength. The expected score against an opponent is not a certain prediction but a statistical fraction derived from the difference between the two ratings. That fraction is a scoring probability obtained from the table of FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

How it is calculated

1. Choose a candidate rating for the player.
2. Compare that rating with each opponent's rating and convert every difference into a scoring probability through FIDE's official table.
3. Add all those expected scores.
4. Find the lowest whole-number rating whose expected total is at least the player's actual tournament score. That number is the PTP.

For a zero score, the regulations set PTP at 800 points below the lowest-rated opponent. In every other case, the full rating-difference scale is used, without the 400-point cut found in some rating calculations.

PTP is not the same as Tournament Performance Rating, or TPR. TPR starts with the opponents' average rating and adds an adjustment based on the overall score percentage. PTP tests one rating against every opponent separately and finds a minimum threshold. It also does not mean that the player scored a perfect 100 percent. Reference ratings come from the applicable Official FIDE Rating List.