Tournament Play

What does adjudication mean in chess?

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In chess, adjudication refers to a way to decide the result of an unfinished game. A tournament director, or an impartial and strong player, will evaluate the final position and assign a win, draw, or loss assuming best play by both players.

What to look for on the board

  • Was the game unfinished?
  • Who decides the likely result?
  • What assumptions are made about best play?

Adjudication FAQ

What does adjudication mean in chess?

In chess, adjudication refers to a way to decide the result of an unfinished game. A tournament director, or an impartial and strong player, will evaluate the final position and assign a win, draw, or loss assuming best play by both players.

Adjudication: how do you spot it on the board?

Look for: Was the game unfinished?; Who decides the likely result?; What assumptions are made about best play?.

Put your own games under review

Knowing the vocabulary is the easy part. Chessiro's free chess game review runs Stockfish 19 over your Chess.com and Lichess games, marks the moves that cost you, and explains each one in plain English. Or paste any game into the PGN analyzer, including famous games from the classic games collection.

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