Feather in the cap

I’ve already shared this picture on Facebook and sent it to my friends on WhatsApp, so the next step is to say something about this remarkable achievement here on my blog. Well, Poh Yu Tian’s star is definitely on the rise. Just this year alone, he’s topped the rapid and standard chess competitions at the Eastern Asia Youth Chess Championship in Penang in July, and then went on to win the rapid individual, rapid team and blitz competitions at the Sukma Games in Sarawak last month. Winning the Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Chess Championship caps off his achievements… so far. Who knows what other targets he’s set his sights on before the year ends? I do know for certain that he’ll be competing in the Singapore International Open later this year, which will be a big challenge for this 15-year-old, as many top-notch grandmasters will be taking part too.

Now, in all 19 years of the Malaysia Open Chess Championship, held in its current format and named in memory of Arthur Tan—the son of the late Tan Chin Nam, the doyen and founder of IGB Berhad, Tan & Tan Development Berhad and other public-listed companies past and present—this is the first time a Malaysian player has claimed the top prize. If Tan Chin Nam were still with us today, I’m sure he’d be absolutely satisfied and give the success a slight smile. Very taciturn, never one to show much emotion. I hope Poh Yu Tian’s milestone success inspires the Tan family to continue supporting the Malaysian chess cause, much like Tan Chin Nam did during his lifetime.

Some detractors have said that Poh Yu Tian wouldn’t have won this 19th edition of the Malaysia Open if the top players weren’t busy at the Chess Olympiad happening at the same time in Budapest, Hungary. But I think they’re underestimating the lad. He already plays with such maturity, and although there’s still room for improvement, I’m confident he’d have raised his game to match any occasion. Even if he didn’t win in the face of stronger competition, the experience would give him more confidence, practice and opportunities to earn his first grandmaster norm (GM norm). Unfortunately, there were too few grandmasters in this tournament—he only faced two when three were needed—but scoring 7½ from nine games is a tremendous effort, well worthy of a grandmaster, in my opinion.

Speaking of GM norms, I believe the race is on to see who will become Malaysia’s first grandmaster. Up until five years ago, I fully expected Yeoh Li Tian to claim that title. By 2019, he’d already earned two norms, but an unfortunate incident at the SEA Games threw him off track. In his final standard chess game, he aimed for Gold, but the position wasn’t quite enough. He then tried to secure a draw, which would’ve been enough for the GM norm, though it would only have earned him the Silver medal. However, his opponent refused the draw, and in the end, Yeoh lost the game. After that, Covid-19 disrupted everyone's plans. Now that Yeoh has graduated and started working, competitive high-level chess has taken a back seat, but I don’t believe we’ve seen the last of him. I’m certain he’ll return to chase that elusive final norm.

As for Poh Yu Tian, he’s a newly minted International Master. It took him three tournaments to collect his three international master norms, although winning the Eastern Asia Youth tournament also granted him the title automatically. He’s still young, and judging by his performance at the Malaysia Open, he’s clearly going after his grandmaster norms now. So, the race is on—will Poh Yu Tian collect his three GM norms before Yeoh Li Tian secure his third?