Penang Boy Checkmates 64-Year-Old Grandmaster In His First Chess Olympiad!

Poh Yu Tian, a 13-year-old boy from Penang is already making waves after defeating 65-year-old chess grandmaster in his first Chess Olympiad in India.

penang boy checkmates 64-year-old grandmaster in his first chess olympiad!Photo via The Vibes

The teenager, who started playing 6 years ago has shown great potential after debuting at the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi recently. According to The Vibes, Yu Tian said that he attended his first chess lesson at the age of 7 years old, adding that he had no knowledge at all of what the game was about.

Just recently, he represented the national team at the Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India, which took place on 28 July to 9 August.

He defeated grandmaster Lubomir Ftacnik from Slovakia, helping Malaysia draw the match with the Slovaks, “During the match, I surprised him in the opening few moves, which pressured the grandmaster to make further mistakes in the game,” he said. 

penang boy checkmates 64-year-old grandmaster in his first chess olympiad!Photo via The Star

Ahh, how clever!

After this, Yu Tian will make an appearance at the 17th Malaysian Chess Festival, scheduled from 2 September to 11 September at Cititel Mid Valley where he will compete in the Datuk Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Championships. 

That’s very impressive. We can’t wait to see what he does next! 

By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat

RELATED ARTICLES