Tournament Scoring and Reports
All tournament-bridge scoring methods in wide use today can be classified as quantitative or comparative. In quantitative scoring, the amount of a gain or loss on each deal is of significance. In comparative scoring, the margin of victory on a single deal is irrelevant. Quantitative scoring is used in standard rubber and four-deal bridge, total point team-of-four, and imps (an abbreviation for international matchpoints). Comparative scoring is used in ordinary duplicates in the form of matchpoints, and in board-a-match team tournaments.
In Bridge World tournament reports, it may appear as though the players continually change geographic positions. During actual play, they do not--indeed, the Laws require players to maintain the same compass location during a session. Our articles adjust the positions for the reader's convenience, making South the declarer whenever possible.
Imps is the scoring method in most major championship team events. The difference in scores made at the two tables is converted to international matchpoints (imps) according to the following scale:
| IMP SCALE | |
|---|---|
| Difference | Imps |
| 20–40 | 1 |
| 50–80 | 2 |
| 90–120 | 3 |
| 130–160 | 4 |
| 170–210 | 5 |
| 220–260 | 6 |
| 270–310 | 7 |
| 320–360 | 8 |
| 370–420 | 9 |
| 430–490 | 10 |
| 500–590 | 11 |
| 600–740 | 12 |
| 750–890 | 13 |
| 900–1090 | 14 |
| 1100–1290 | 15 |
| 1300–1490 | 16 |
| 1500–1740 | 17 |
| 1750–1990 | 18 |
| 2000–2240 | 19 |
| 2250–2490 | 20 |
| 2500–2990 | 21 |
| 3000–3490 | 22 |
| 3500–3990 | 23 |
| 4000 plus | 24 |
In multiple team events where there is a round-robin, the imp result of each match may be converted to Victory Points (VPs). VP scales vary according to the philosophy of the organizers and the number of boards played.