Regarding the two possibilities for a 14:11 (and other results):
How is this handled in a competition?
In most competitions organisers simply total up the points, regardless of the actual game results.
However, in some comps, organisers give bonus points to players who actually win their games. For example, they'll calculate the score as provided in the rules, then add 100 points to the score of the player who breaks his opponent's army. That way, one win is worth more than any number of draws.
Isn't it unfair in such cases to give the same points for a draw as for a victory?
Good question. The issue has been batted back and forth several times on the DBMM email list, and was discussed as part of the rules review for Version 2, so there are plenty of people who hold a similar view to you.
The answer I'd give to your question is
Not necessarily. The scoring process is designed to provide some recognition of close games. I've played plenty of games where the winner has been 2 ME or less from defeat, and most people I've played have experienced the same. Under the DBM scoring system of recognising only broken commands, such games could still be scored 10-0 or 9-1. It certainly happened to me in competition: in one case my army was literally one element from breaking when my opponent's army broke, but none of my commands were broken (my C-in-C's command was more than half the army, and my opponent had also sacked my baggage); under the DBM scoring system, the score was 10-0 to me, despite the game being so desperately close.
However, it's also worth noting that
winning scores like 14-11 and 15-10 are still fairly rare. If you inflict a few losses and dishearten one enemy command before losing, the score will probably be 22-3, which is satisfyingly decisive. If you break a small command and inflict a few losses on other commands before losing, the score will be around 19-6, which is still a wide margin. The scores only really get close if you inflict heavy losses on the enemy and also kill a couple of generals into the bargain before losing. (Keep in mind that most armies will break if you inflict 34% losses on two commands...)
Another way of looking at it is that the DBMM scoring system rewards players who get in and have a go; a player who loses a game yet still scores 10 or 11 points has obviously got his army into combat, and done what I think most people go to a competition to experience: an actual battle. Compare that to a player who deploys in a terrain box and sacrifices the barest minimum of troops to delay the enemy attack. I'm fairly sure that most Australian players would happily concede as many points to someone who pushed them to the edge as to someone who avoided a decisive clash.
