After 25 years and countless moves, Malaysia finally gets its first chess Grandmaster
Yeoh Li Tian, a 25-year-old prodigy from Petaling Jaya, officially earned the coveted GM title after securing his third norm and surpassing the 2500 FIDE rating mark by winning the GM-IM Invitational Chess Championship 2025 held here today.
The title, awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), is a lifelong honour and places Li Tian among an elite group of fewer than 2,000 Grandmasters worldwide.
Speaking to Bernama, Li Tian, who began playing chess at the age of three, admitted that his journey was long and grueling, marked by sacrifices and perseverance.
'I always tell people that I have no childhood. So I guess that that will be my biggest sacrifice. Since young, like even in primary school, I go to school, come back, do my homework and then I start working on chess,' he said.
When asked about achieving the GM title on home soil, he said the moment was even more meaningful after narrowly missing the opportunity during the 2022 SEA Games in Hanoi.
'I felt really relieved and happy to actually get my last norm back in Malaysia. I hope that it inspires more chess players to play chess,' he added.
Looking ahead, Li Tian remains uncertain about his next steps but hinted that he might compete in the upcoming SEA Games in Thailand at the end of this year.
'Malaysia Chess Federation (MCF) already approached me for this SEA Games. I think there's a high chance that I will be playing,' he said.
Meanwhile, MCF President Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi described Li Tian's achievement as a historic milestone in the nation's chess history.
He added that the MCF is now more determined than ever to nurture and produce more Malaysian GM, with the goal of elevating and strengthening the local chess scene.
'I feel the achievement is a new positive and healthy development for the game of chess in the country.
'We do not want this achievement to stop here and if can, we want more GM from Malaysia to emerge, just like ehat has been produced by neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines,' he said. — Bernama
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Hannah Yeoh urges state leaders to boost youth and sports funding
SHAH ALAM: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has called on Chief Ministers and Menteris Besar to allocate adequate funds for youth and sports development in their upcoming state budgets. Speaking after chairing the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) Supreme Committee Meeting, she emphasised the importance of financial support for state-level initiatives. Hannah highlighted that sufficient funding would enable state executive councillors to implement more development programmes. 'This is not a small portfolio; it looks after the future assets of the country and promotes a healthy lifestyle. If they receive adequate budgets, they can implement many more development programmes, but usually, it's not enough,' she said. The minister also chaired the first Meeting of Ministers and Excos on Youth and Sports Development 2025, attended by state youth and sports representatives. According to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, 54 per cent of office holders in youth organisations are under 30, following the enforcement of the Youth Societies and Youth Development Act (Amendment) 2019. The act is expected to impact 8,233 registered youth organisations, ensuring greater youth participation in leadership roles. - Bernama
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Hannah: Selangor Sukma to feature e-sports, chess, cricket and kabaddi
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh together with Mohd Najwan Halimi, Selangor's state executive councillor for youth, sports, and entrepreneurship after the Sukma supreme council meeting. - Bernama SHAH ALAM: The 2026 Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Selangor will feature the new sports of e-sports, chess, cricket and kabaddi, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said. She shared that the four sports were approved at the Sukma supreme council meeting that she chaired today (Aug 5), adding that boxing and softball were also selected as mandatory sports for Sukma effective from the 2026 edition. "This brings the number of mandatory sports to 30. With the four additional sports approved for Sukma 2026, 34 sports will be contested,' she said at a media conference after chairing the meeting, as she noted that the decision was final and no additional appeals would be entertained. This would ensure that the organiser had sufficient time to prepare for the Games, scheduled for Aug 15-24 in Selangor. They also approved the official participation of the Brunei contingent but the number of sports will be determined by a special technical committee soon, while the State Youth and Sports Exco meeting, which was also today, agreed that state participation for the Para Sukma would be managed by state sports councils, replacing the state youth and sports department to ensure preparation of para athletes was more strategic and focused. Hannah also shared that they would continue developing sports for women following the lack of female athletes and technical officials in Sukma 2024 in Sarawak, with today's meeting agreeing that for every open event, participation of athletes of different genders were compulsory. "For sports events contested at the Olympic Games, they will be held and not dropped according to previous Sukma regulations even if the number of women athletes did not meet the minimum requirement of six states. "This is a very important departure to encourage women sports continue to provide opportunities to compete, even with the lack of investment and funds from all states,' Hannah said. Also, each state contingent has been asked to appoint a woman head of contingent or deputy head and to have a 20 per cent quota of female support officials for secretariat and medical duties beginning from Sukma 2026. "Selangor Sukma will have at least 30 per cent female volunteers and 20 per cent female tournament technical officials. I feel this is a very inclusive Games and many will wait to see how this Sukma is different from the ones before,' she added. - Bernama
Malay Mail
7 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Sports minister says Sukma 2026 to feature e-sports, chess, cricket, and kabaddi
SHAH ALAM, Aug 5 — The 2026 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) in Selangor will feature the new sports of e-sports, chess, cricket and kabaddi, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said. She shared that the four sports were approved at the SUKMA Supreme Council meeting that she chaired today, adding that boxing and softball were also selected as mandatory sports for SUKMA effective from the 2026 edition. 'This brings the number of mandatory sports to 30. With the four additional sports approved for SUKMA 2026, 34 sports will be contested,' she said at a media conference after chairing the meeting here today, as she noted that the decision was final and no additional appeals would be entertained. This would ensure that the organiser had sufficient time to prepare for the Games, scheduled for Aug 15 to 24, 2026 in Selangor, she added. The meeting today also approved the official participation of the Brunei Darussalam contingent in SUKMA 2026, but the number of sports will be determined by a special technical committee soon, while the State Youth and Sports Exco meeting, which was also held today, agreed that state participation for the Para SUKMA would be managed by state sports councils from 2026, replacing the state youth and sports department to ensure preparation of para athletes was more strategic and focused. Yeoh also shared that they would continue developing sports for women following the lack of female athletes and technical officials in SUKMA 2024 in Sarawak, with today's meeting agreeing that for every open event, participation of athletes of different genders were compulsory. 'For sports events contested at the Olympic Games, they will be held and not dropped according to previous SUKMA regulations even if the number of women athletes did not meet the minimum requirement of six states. 'This is a very important departure to encourage women sports continue to provide opportunities to compete, even with the lack of investment and funds from all states,' Yeoh said. Also, each state contingent has been asked to appoint a woman head of contingent or deputy head and to have a 20 per cent quota of female support officials for secretariat and medical duties beginning from SUKMA 2026. 'Selangor SUKMA will have at least 30 per cent female volunteers and 20 per cent female tournament technical officials. I feel this is a very inclusive Games and many will wait to see how this SUKMA is different from the ones before,' she added. — Bernama
