Singapore chess grandmaster Tin Jingyao eyes next milestone after winning regional title

Singapore chess grandmaster Tin Jingyao topped a 54-player field which included some of the region’s top players. PHOTO: MONGOLIAN CHESS FEDERATION

Melvyn Teoh

UPDATED May 03, 2025, 12:44 AM

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SINGAPORE – Buoyed by an unprecedented triumph, Singapore’s chess grandmaster Tin Jingyao has now set his sights on more breakthroughs as he seeks to climb up the world ranking.

On May 1, the 24-year-old became the first Singaporean to win the Asian Zone 3.3 Chess Championship in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

On the same day, he also became the first from the Republic to cross the 2,600 mark in Elo rating – a measurement of a player’s ability. Tin, whose rating was 2,597 before his triumph, is now on 2,601 following the International Chess Federation’s (Fide) monthly update.

After completing all nine of his games in Mongolia, Tin was tied on seven points with home favourites Uurtsaikh Agibileg and Sugar Gan-Erdene, having garnered five wins and four draws.

But the Singaporean was declared champion after applying the tiebreak rule, which hands the advantage to the player who had faced opponents with higher ratings.