SINGAPORE – National chess player Tin Jingyao finished second in the III Elllobregat Open Chess tournament in Barcelona after losing the play-off to Iran’s M. Amin Tabatabaei on Wednesday.
In the nine-round tournament, Tin recorded a stunning 1-0 victory over American grandmaster Hans Niemann in the seventh round, before drawing the final two rounds to remain joint-top with Tabatabaei and India’s Aditya Mittal, forcing a three-way play-off.
Tin, who became grandmaster in May, qualified directly for the final play-off as he had a better tiebreak record.
Facing Tabatabaei, who beat Mittal in the semi-final, Tin had been leading in the first game but made a mistake towards the end, allowing his opponent to snatch the victory.
Tin then had to win the second game to force an Armageddon tiebreaker but could not change the momentum.
For his achievement, Tin will receive €5,000 euros (S$7,100), half of Tabatabaei’s prize money.
Singapore Chess Federation chief executive Kevin Goh said Tin should be proud of his performance and hopes he can replicate his form at the Chessable Sunway Sitges Chess Festival, which starts in Barcelona on Sunday.
“This outstanding result in such a strong field at a high profile event easily ranks as the best performance of a Singaporean player in our chess history.”
