We present a comprehensive experimental and ab initio study of the S = 1/2 Mo 5+ system, KMoOP 2 O 7 , and show that it realizes the S = 1 2 Heisenberg chain antiferromagnet model. Powder neutron diffraction reveals that KMoOP 2 O 7 forms a magnetic network comprised of pairs of Mo 5+ chains within its monoclinic P2 1 /n structure. Antiferromagnetic interactions within the Mo 5+ chains are identified through magnetometry measurements and confirmed by analysis of the magnetic specific heat. The latter reveals a broad feature centered on T N = 0.54 K, which we ascribe to the onset of long-range antiferromagnetic order. No magnetic Bragg scattering is observed in powder neutron-diffraction data collected at 0.05 K, however, which is consistent with a strongly suppressed ordered moment with an upper limit μ ord < 0.15 μ B . The one-dimensional character of the magnetic correlations in KMoOP 2 O 7 is verified through analysis of inelastic neutron-scattering data, resulting in a model with J 2 ≈ 34 K and J 1 ≈ −2 K for the intrachain and interchain exchange interactions, respectively. The origin of these experimental findings are addressed through density-functional theory calculations.