GMRafael Leitao

Rafael Leitão was born in São Luís in 1979. He won world youth championships at under-12 level in 1991 and under-18 level in 1996. He became a grandmaster in 1998 and won seven Brazilian championships between 1996 and 2014. He represented Brazil at nine Olympiads, earning individual silver on third board in 2006.

Leitão competed repeatedly in FIDE world championship knockouts and World Cups. He began playing international correspondence chess in 2009 and became an ICCF grandmaster in 2012. By finishing second in a Candidates tournament, he qualified for the twenty-sixth Correspondence World Championship. He took third place in that final with 9½/16.