Liem, who is studying and training in the US, said he would compete in more international tournaments this year to improve his Elo rating and become a top 25 player.

The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in competitor-versus-competitor games such as chess.

At present, two-time Aeroflot Open champion Liem is world No 35 with an Elo rating of 2,718.

The former world blitz champion won the annual SPICE Cup Open last year, the highest rated international invitational tournament in the US, and walked away with a cash prize of US$5,000. He was runner-up at the Millionaire Chess Tournament in Las Vegas, and made the third round of the World Cup 2015 in Baku, Azerbaijan.