Singapore chess grandmaster Tin Jingyao reflects on upset win after exit from FIDE World Cup
Singapore's youngest grandmaster may be out of the FIDE World Chess Cup, but his unexpected win over world No 13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov has made a mark.

Singapore's Tin Jingyao with world No 13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. (Photo: FIDE World Cup website)
SINGAPORE: He might have been knocked out of the competition, but Singapore’s youngest grandmaster Tin Jingyao considers this year’s FIDE World Chess Cup one of his best performances yet.
That’s largely owing to his unexpected win over ninth seed and world No 13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on the latter’s home turf in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Tin sealed the upset victory on Thursday (Aug 3) in the second round of the tournament organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
The 23-year-old, who is Singapore’s top-ranked chess player and world No 291, has since exited the tournament where he was seeded 120.
He lost to Denmark’s 73rd seed Rasmus Svane in the third round of competition played over the weekend.
Speaking to CNA over a video call from Baku on Monday, Tin said his performance has given him more confidence in his ability to face elite players.
Among the opponents he has met in classical chess, “definitely I think (Mamedyarov) is the strongest player I’ve played over the board, maybe even by far”, he said.
“Coming off the more recent results, I’m feeling a bit disappointed. But if I look at the bigger picture, of course, I think overall I shouldn’t be too upset.”

PAWN TO G5
The FIDE World Chess Cup comprises eight knockout rounds. Each round consists of two games played over two days.
Going into his first game with Mamedyarov, Tin said he felt comfortable and relaxed as he was not expected to win. That game ended in a draw.
Next day’s game would make the difference. Mamedyarov, playing white, set up an advantage for himself in the first 15 moves, according to Tin.
“It was a kind of position where if I just sat around and did nothing, I would just have to suffer for quite a lot of moves and maybe, at best, hold a draw.”
But Tin pounced on a chance to turn the tide in his favour.
“Around move 17, I spotted this opportunity to kind of play something very risky, but it would complicate the game a lot,” he said.
For those keen to re-enact the play – which was Chess.com’s game of the day for Aug 3 – the move involved pushing his pawn into G5.
“Even though objectively speaking the move itself wasn’t that great, it really helped to, I think, mess up the game and confuse my opponent a little.”
Mamedyarov immediately followed with moves that were less than precise, and the game became “really, really complicated and double-edged”, said Tin.
“After that, we were both running very low on time. And in time trouble, I think we both made mistakes, but I think he was the one to make the final mistake and I was able to capitalise on that.”
Tin said he and Mamedyarov did not exchange any words after the match, but he considers it a “great opportunity” to have sparred with the grandmaster.
DEFEAT AND LOOKING FORWARD
Unfortunately, the next risk Tin took, in his first game against Svane, did not have the intended effect.
Tin said he spent most of that game in a great position and was close to winning, but slipped at a pivotal point towards the end, “when it mattered”.
Facing the prospect of a draw when he had been in pole position all along, he chose a risky move to claw back a win. This ended up backfiring, he said.
“In hindsight, there was no need for me to really risk everything in that first game ... If I could have done anything differently, I would probably have just taken the safe way out.”
Tin, who achieved the grandmaster title last year, feels he is at a “new beginning” for his chess career. Competing against elite players has only become more frequent in the past year and is still a “new experience” for him.
The computer science student, who is going into his third year at the National University of Singapore, spends about two to three hours each day training at the Singapore Chess Federation and with coach Andrey Kvon, or studying chess on his own.
His win over Mamedyarov was a “tremendous achievement” that put Singapore chess on the map, said grandmaster Kevin Goh, the federation's president.
Goh added that Tin is nearing a “world class or elite” level.
“We are generally talking about fine margins, and we need to find out exactly what sort of training is suitable to help to address some of the minor issues that he’s facing right now,” he said.
The federation is looking into the possibility of bringing in trainers who can provide different perspectives from coaching at even higher levels. This will require funding, Goh added.
If the pieces fall into place, could Tin join the ranks of full-time professional chess players after he graduates?
“There’s definitely a good chance that that might be the path I want to take because I think it’s actually quite fun and interesting for me,” he said.