Tin Jingyao, Singapore's youngest chess grandmaster, has defeated former world rapid champion Shakhriyar Mamedyarov from Azerbaijan in what has been hailed as the Republic's biggest chess victory.

Tin, 23, ranked 291 among the world's active chess players, beat the world No. 13 and local hero Mamedyarov with a win and a draw across two games on Aug. 4, when the two clashed in the second round of the Fide World Cup held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Tough opponent

Mamedyarov, one of Azerbaijan's all-time great players, is the 2013 world rapid chess champion and a two-time world junior champion, claiming the title in 2003 and 2005.

Known for his aggressive and dynamic playing style, the 38-year-old also clinched a gold medal at the 2012 Chess Olympiad and is a three-time European team champion.

Huge win for Singapore chess

Tin's shock upset over the Azerbaijani grandmaster gained him international acclaim from the chess community.

Former five-time world champion and Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand even dubbed it the "best Singaporean performance in history".

Huge upset. 20 year old Tin Jingyao from Singapore eliminates one of the top seeds Mamedyarov! Best Singaporean performance in history!@FIDE_chess #FIDEWorldCup

— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) August 3, 2023

Speaking to chess media platform ChessBase India after his victory, Tin admitted that the win was even more satisfying because Mamedyarov was the "strongest player" he had faced in a classical chess tournament.

“For me, it was just very exciting to be able to play such a strong player. I think this is the strongest player I’ve played in a classical over-the-board tournament, so it’s a great experience for me and, of course, getting the result feels even better,” he said.

Singapore Chess Federation chief executive Kevin Goh also chimed in, citing Tin's win as the biggest scalp in Singapore chess history as "Mamedyarov has been one of the world’s best players for a long time", according to The Straits Times.

He also believed the result would greatly boost Tin’s confidence and predicted he would become one of the top 100 players in the world soon.

Though Tin was eliminated by his next opponent, Denmark’s Rasmus Svane in the third round on Aug. 6, this was his best run at the event.

His last attempt at the 2021 FIDE World Cup resulted in a first-round exit.

On a roll

Tin's stock continues to rise after an impressive 2022, where he became the youngest Singaporean grandmaster at 22 and also took home three medals at the SEA Games in Hanoi — two bronzes and a silver.

The third-year computing student at the National University of Singapore also ended the year by finishing second at the III Elllobregat Open Chess tournament in Barcelona, Spain, in December 2022.

In doing so, he toppled US chess prodigy Hans Niemann, who made headlines for allegedly cheating against five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen.

Top image from sgchessfed on Instagram.