With all the hype on the World Rapid and Blitz Team, I've completely missed our Malaysian players taking part in the world youth. If not for the headlines I saw in https://catur.org/news, this would have been completely missed.

Malaysia has sent a four-player delegation to the World Youth Chess Championship 2026, which is currently ongoing at the Pala Dean Martin Congress Center in Montesilvano.

Located on the beautiful Adriatic coast in the Abruzzo region (near Pescara), it hosts major conferences, concerts, and international gatherings, such as the FIDE World Youth Chess Championships. The center is clean, spacious, and sits just a short walk away from the beach.

As the tournament crosses the halfway mark (heading into the rest day after Round 6), here is the lineup and their latest available performance data:

Open Under-18

• FM Siva Kumar Nirish Kumar (2224): Started the tournament with a win in Round 1 but dropped his Round 2 game playing with the black pieces against Norway's FM Sivert Schanche Torfoss (2328).

Open Under-16

• CM Shen Ree Herng (1971): Secured 1.5 points across the first three rounds. He lost his opener to Azerbaijan's Pasham Alizada (2296), bounced back with a win against Taiwan's Huang Da-Xuan, and drew against Austria's Noah Benedikt (2164).
• Ch'ng Kai Xue Edric (1655): Competing as the 115th seed in the highly competitive U16 section.

Open Under-14

• Rajendran Kartikeyan (1957): Scored 2.5 points in his first 5 rounds (scoring: 0, 1, 1, ½, 0). This placed him around 67th in the standings heading into the second half of the event.

There are no Malaysian representatives in the Girls' sections this year.

SHEN, Ree Herng (1971) – DOTZER, Lukas (2495)
World Youth Chess Championship 2026 – Open 16 (Montesilvano, ITA), 18.06.2026

🏆 DOUBLE GOLD FOR DRAGON CHILLING! 🐉 FIDE World Team Rapid & Blitz 2026 Wraps Up in Hong Kong! 🇭🇰

🇲🇾 MALAYSIA CHESS HUB – THE UNDERDOG WARRIORS

at the FIDE World Team Rapid Chess Championship 2026

📋 TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW & FINAL STANDINGS

Entering the tournament as the 37th-seeded team with an average rapid rating of 2156.2, the Malaysia Chess Hub completed the 12-round tournament in 36th place overall – a one-rank improvement against the world's best!

🏅 Special Eligibility: Based on their team composition, they were also one of the teams eligible to compete for the special "Under 2400" prize category.

👥 TEAM COMPOSITION & INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS

The Malaysia Chess Hub fielded a strong roster of 8 players to tackle the rapid format (15 minutes + 10 seconds increment):

♟️ BOARD 1 – THE FLAGBEARER

GM Yeoh Li Tian (2421 Rapid Rating)
🇲🇾 Malaysia's top gun led the charge with 5 points in his first 8 games and a stellar 2544 performance rating – outplaying his rating by over 100 points!

♟️ BOARD 2 – THE RELIABLE ROCK

FM Kavin Mohan (2240 Rapid Rating)
The young gun reliably secured 4 points in his first 8 games on Board 2, providing a steady anchor for the team.

♟️ BOARD 3 – THE MIDDLE-GAME MASTER

IM Tan Jun Ying (2123 Rapid Rating)
A seasoned campaigner bringing strategic depth to the core of the lineup.

♟️ BOARD 4 – THE VETERAN PRESENCE

IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (2201 Rapid Rating)
The experienced IM added grit and stability to the lower boards.

👑 BOARD 5 – THE FEMALE POWERHOUSE

WFM Mohd Afif Ainul Mardhiah (1796 Rapid Rating)
The team's female representative and rising star, anchoring the mandatory women's board with determination.

♟️ BOARD 6 – THE DEPTH PLAYER

Jafri Malim Mohd Adam Hafiz
Ready to step up when called upon.

🔄 RESERVES – THE WAITING THREATS

• CM Chow Yi Chen – Young talent with recent championship pedigree
• Mohd Kamal Eldin Hakimi – Depth and flexibility for the squad

📈 RISING TALENT ALERT

The team also benefited from the momentum of rising talents like WFM Ainul Mardhiah and young CM Chow Yi Chen, who had recently captured the PMX Trophy team championship with the Chess Hub Titans.

⚔️ ROUND-BY-ROUND MATCH RESULTS

Malaysia Chess Hub fought through a rigorous 12-round Swiss-system schedule, finishing with a record of 5 wins, 1 draw, and 6 losses:

🚀 THE FINAL SURGE

By securing back-to-back strong victories in the final two rounds (Rounds 11 and 12), Malaysia Chess Hub managed to successfully improve upon their starting rank to close out the tournament.

🎯 BOTTOM LINE

From 37th seed to 36th place, a team of Malaysian warriors fought tooth and nail against the world's best.
With a legendary GM leading the charge, young guns stepping up, and a strong finish to remember, the Malaysia Chess Hub proved that Malaysia Boleh! 🇲🇾💪

For pictures visit Catur Seri Menanti FB page

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18zacd4gee/

📍 Playing right out of the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong 🏟️🇭🇰, the Malaysia Chess Hub team is holding their ground after 8 intense rounds of 15+10 rapid chess! ⏱️♟️

Starting the tournament as the 37th seed with an average team rating of 2102 📉➡️📈, they have fought hard to climb up slightly to the 36th rank overall 🆙👏

GM Yeoh Li Tian is leading the charge on Board 1 with 5 points from 8 games, performing well above his rating with a strong 2544 performance rating 📊💥

FM Kavin Mohan has been reliable on Board 2 with 4 points from 8 games 🛡️, while IM Tan Jun Ying and IM Mas Hafizulhelmi have chipped in with valuable points when it matters most! 💪🧠

The team also features rising talents like WFM Ainul Mardhiah 🌟 and young CM Chow Yi Chen 🧒♟️, who recently won the PMX Trophy team championship with Chess Hub Titans just weeks ago 🔥🏆

Looking at their overall team performance, Malaysia Chess Hub has secured 6 Matchpoints ✅ and a total of 19.5 game points so far 📊📌

Their notable 4-2 win against the Davao Chess Eagles (DC Eagles) was a highlight from Round 6 🦅💥⚔️. On top of that, they have also clinched two other crucial 3.5-2.5 victories against the Kindness On Board Infinite Team in Round 2 🤝✨ and the Qingdao Wanyun Chess Club in Round 5 🌊🏛️! 💪

With 10 total Malaysian players proudly representing their federation at this massive event 🇲🇾👥, the Malaysia Chess Hub continues to show they can compete with the best 🏅🔥. Let's cheer them on for the final rounds! 📣♟️💙

🏆 **FIDE WORLD TEAM RAPID & BLITZ CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026** ♟️🌏

📍 **WHERE:** Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Hong Kong  

📅 **WHEN:** June 16 – 22, 2026  

🔥 **Main Competition Days:** June 17 – 21  

🌏 This historic event marks the tournament's **first-ever appearance in East Asia**!

⚙️ **KEY EVENT DETAILS**

👥 **Team Format:**  

Mixed teams of **6–9 players**. Each lineup must include:  

✅ At least **1 female player**  

✅ At least **1 recreational player** (ELO below 2000)

💰 **Prize Fund:**  

A massive **€500,000** purse – split between the Rapid & Blitz events!

🏛️ **Organizers:**  

Hosted by **FIDE** (International Chess Federation) in collaboration with the **Hong Kong China Chess Federation**.

⏱️ **TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE**

♟️ **World Team Rapid** (June 17–19)  

• 12-round Swiss system  

• Time control: **15 minutes + 10 seconds per move**

⚡ **World Team Blitz** (June 20–21)  

• Pool stages → 16-team knockout  

• Time control: **3 minutes + 2 seconds per move**

⭐ **ELITE LINEUPS & FAVORITES**

This year's field is the **strongest in history** – featuring many of the world's Top 10 male and female players! 🔥

Just take a look at the team composition. It looks like a mini Olympiad !!

🏅 **WR Chess**  

• Headlined by World No. 1 **Magnus Carlsen**  

• Also: **Fabiano Caruana** & **Maxime Vachier-Lagrave**

🐉 **Dragon Chilling**  

• Led by former World Champion **Ding Liren**  

• Reigning Women's World Champion **Ju Wenjun**

🧠 **Hexamind Chess Team**  

• Stars: **Alireza Firouzja**, **Anish Giri**, & **Levon Aronian**

🎟️ **WATCHING & ATTENDING**

**In‑Person:**  

🎫 General admission & multi-day passes available via:  

• **URBTIX Ticketing Platform** (official)  

• Occasionally on **StubHub**

**Online (Global Fans):**  

💻 Track live standings, pairings & real-time board action on:  

• **Chess.com Events**  

• **FIDE Official Tournament Page**

What are they all fighting for? These prize money of course:

* Exchange rate used: 1 EUR ≈ 5.05 MYR (subject to market fluctuations)

As I posted in my last article, there are the Malaysians taking part:

♟️ MALAYSIA CHESS HUB
🇲🇾 Powered by experience and talent!

🔹 GM Yeoh, Li Tian – 2421
🔹 FM Kavin, Mohan – 2266
🔹 IM Mas, Hafizulhelmi – 2198
🔹 IM Tan, Jun Ying – 2145
🔹 CM Chow, Yi Chen – 1878
🔹 WFM Mohd Afif, Ainul Mardhiah – 1796
🔹 Jafri Malim, Mohd Adam Hafiz – 1786 (also serving as Team Captain)
🔹 Mohd Kamal, Eldin Hakimi – 1783

⚡ TEAM QUADCORE+

🔸 FM Genkeswaran, Genivan – 1975
🔸 Mohd Nurul Izani, Kaseh Irsya Dania – 1691

Malaysians acting as arbiters there

👤 IA Madhavan, Collin
👤 IA Madhavan, Olivia

Who's your pick to take it all? Drop your predictions below! 👇♟️🔥