Armenian chess grandmaster Haik Martirosyan (Ranked 129) defeated Azerbaijan’s top chess player Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Ranked 6) in the first tie-break game at the FIDE World Chess Cup 2021 in Sochi, Russia, informs the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

On July 19, Martirosyan defeated Mamedyarov 1-0 in the first game of the third round, unfortunately in the second game he lost to the Azerbaijani 0-1. Thus the pair played a tie-break today which resulted in the Armenian coming up in a stunning 1.5-0.5 upset, advancing to the fourth round where he will face Croatian Ante Brkic who is ranked 272 globally.

The 2021 FIDE World Cup is a 206-player knockout taking place in Krasnaya Polyana, near Sochi, Russia from July 12 to August 6. The prize fund is almost $1.9m, with $110,000 for the winner, while the finalists also qualify for the 2022 Candidates Tournament.