A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO THE TOP

S'pore teen recaptures form after leaving SCF fold, wins international chess title

- Melvyn Teoh

Singapore Chess Federation's (SCF) high-performance programme dropout Yu Bei Hao put in a "memorable" display to win the Group B overall title at the Singapore International Open at the Resorts World Sentosa Convention Centre on Dec 5.

The 15-year-old came out on top out of 281 participants in the category for those with an Elo rating of below 1,900, a measurement of a player's ability, via the International Chess Federation (Fide).

The tournament, held in conjunction with the ongoing Fide World Championship at the same venue, also saw Singaporean grandmaster Siddharth Jagadeesh finish third overall in Group A, for players above 1,800 Elo rating.

Bei Hao's feat, which comes with a prize of $2,000, was his first major individual title, and comes three months after helping Hwa Chong Institution win the National Schools Team Championships in September.

The Secondary 3 student said: "This experience has been very good. It has been very fun playing at this tournament, and I get to interact with many people, especially people from overseas, which I usually don't get the chance to.