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.