A Malaysian has earned the highest accolade in the world of chess and is now the nation’s first Grandmaster (GM).
Yeoh Li Tian, 25, who hails from Petaling Jaya, made the cut following his win at the GM-IM Invitational Chess Championship 2025 held in Kuala Lumpur today, Bernama reported.
The title, awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), is a lifelong honour and places him among an elite group of fewer than 2,000 Grandmasters worldwide.
Yeoh officially earned the coveted GM title after securing his “third norm” and surpassing the 2500 FIDE rating mark following his win today.
The “third norm” refers to the third of three required achievements needed to attain the prestigious GM or International Master (IM) title.
Yeoh, who began playing chess at the age of three, said his journey was long and gruelling, marked by sacrifice and perseverance.
“I always tell people that I had no childhood. So I guess that was my biggest sacrifice. Since young, like even in primary school, I went to school, came back, did my homework and then started working on chess,” he was quoted as saying.
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 in Malaysia. I hope that it inspires more Malaysians to play chess,” he added.
Yeoh 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.
“The Malaysia Chess Federation (MCF) has already approached me for the upcoming SEA Games. I think there’s a high chance that I will be playing,” he said.
Meanwhile, MCF president Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi described Yeoh’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 GMs, 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 possible, we want more GMs from Malaysia to emerge, just like what happened in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines,” he said, according to Bernama.
