Yeoh Li Tian, born October 16, 1999, is Malaysia’s first-ever chess Grandmaster (GM). He earned the GM title after securing his third norm and surpassing the 2500 FIDE rating mark by winning the GM-IM Invitational Chess Championship in Kuala Lumpur on August 3, 2025. This lifelong honor, awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), places him among a little more than 2,000 Grandmasters worldwide.
Yeoh Li Tian FIDE Ratings (as of latest data): Classical: 2490, Rapid: 2425, Blitz: 2430. World ranking: #661 (see top 100 here)
More about Yeoh Li Tian
Malaysian Chess Champion: Won the national title in 2015 and 2016.
FIDE Zone 3.3 Championship (2017): Secured victory on tiebreak over Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn, earning the International Master (IM) title and his first GM norm. He became the first Malaysian to qualify for the FIDE World Cup, where he was eliminated in the first round by former world champion Viswanathan Anand.
SEA Games (2019): Won Malaysia’s first-ever Rapid Chess gold medal at the Philippines Southeast Asian Games
Asian University Chess Championship (2021): Earned an individual silver medal despite a rocky start, finishing with 7/9 points.
