Bottom Board Elimination

Bottom Board Elimination, abbreviated BBE, is a team-specific tie-break. In a knockout, where one match determines which team advances, it is used when teams remain level in both match points, which describe the overall result, and game points, which add the individual board results.

The first calculation adds all of a team's game points except those scored on the bottom board. If that separates the teams, the procedure ends. If the tie remains, the next-lowest board is also excluded and the comparison is repeated. The process continues until a difference appears.

The method progressively gives priority to what happened on the higher boards. It does not cancel games or remove players from the competition. Official results remain unchanged; certain values are omitted only inside the tie-break calculation.

BBE may follow Extended Direct Encounter for Teams when the competition regulations prescribe that sequence. It also differs from Board Count, which keeps every board and assigns each a different multiplier.