Top Scores With Ties — Solution & ExplanationProblems / Top Scores With Ties / EditorialApproach

Rank with DENSE_RANK. DENSE_RANK() OVER (ORDER BY score DESC) numbers distinct score values 1, 2, 3, ... with ties sharing a rank and no gaps after them.

Filter in an outer query. SQL evaluates WHERE before window functions, so the rank must be computed in a subquery and filtered outside (score_rank <= 3).

Order by rank, then player for a stable presentation.

Key InsightThe three ranking functions encode three different *contracts* for "top N": ROW_NUMBER = exactly N rows (ties broken arbitrarily — unfair), RANK = competition style (ties share a rank, next value skips — 'top 3 ranks' can miss the 3rd-best score), DENSE_RANK = top N distinct values, ties included. Interviews love this distinction because the query shapes are identical and only the semantics differ — with a 2-way tie at the top and a 3-way tie at rank 3, this dataset returns 6, and only DENSE_RANK gets it right.Hints

"Top 3 score values, everyone tied included" pins down the ranking function: DENSE_RANK gives equal scores equal ranks AND leaves no gaps, so rank <= 3 means exactly the 3 best distinct scores.

ROW_NUMBER() <= 3 would return exactly 3 players, silently dropping some of the tied ones. RANK() <= 3 fails differently: after a 2-way tie at rank 1, the next score gets rank 3 and the third-best score rank 4 — excluded.

Window functions can't appear in WHERE — compute the rank in a subquery (or CTE), filter outside.

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