Finally, Yeoh Li Tian, a remarkable 25-year-old from Selangor. His picked up chess at the tender age of just three. Actually he learnt Xingchi (Chinese chess) first.
Yeoh Li Tian has officially achieved the Grandmaster title! This isn’t just any title; it is the highest honor awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE)! This lifelong recognition places him among an elite group of fewer than 2,000 players globally.
As Yeoh himself humbly shared, “I often tell people I didn’t really have a childhood. That’s probably the biggest sacrifice I’ve made”. His routine was school, homework, and then straight into chess training.
The defining moment arrived at the 2025 GM-IM Invitational Chess Championship, held right here in Kuala Lumpur! From July 28th to August 3rd, the air was thick with anticipation. Yeoh triumphantly secured his third norm and pushed his FIDE rating past the crucial 2,500-point threshold, sealing his Grandmaster status. His final, decisive victory against Indonesia’s IM Nayaka Budhidharma solidified this historic achievement!
Yet this was a bittersweet moment as at age 19, Li Tian had already surpassed 2500 ELO rating and was arguably already of GM strength. What was missing was that final GM norm. What followed were university studies. After graduation, it was work.
Now, 6 years later, he finally got that elusive GM norm.
“I felt a deep sense of relief and joy when I finally secured my last norm here in Malaysia. I hope that it inspires more Malaysians to play chess”! Achieving this title on home soil made the moment “even more meaningful” after narrowly missing it at the 2022 SEA Games in Hanoi.
This is a historic milestone and a pivotal turning point for the sport in Malaysia! The Malaysian Chess Federation president, Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi, has declared that this achievement “sparks a new wave of Grandmasters from our shores, just like in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines”! In fact, the MCF has already reported a 300% surge in junior membership inquiries since his victory! This proves, as Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh stated, that Malaysians can dominate cerebral sports globally!
As for what’s next? While still undecided, Yeoh has hinted at a possible appearance at the upcoming SEA Games in Thailand later this year, with the Malaysian Chess Federation already approaching him.
The a general feeling that this will be a catalyst for chess development in Malaysia.
