FM Yi Liu Wins The 2026 Australian Chess Championship

FM Yi Liu, a 28-year-old ironman of the Australian chess circuit, was crowned as the national champion on Thursday after a scoring a commanding 9/11 in the championship event in Sydney. Liu was pushed all the way by 15-year-old Melbournian and IM-elect Tedric Li, who scored 8.5/11, and almost caught Liu following Liu's shock loss to FM Kai Jie Soo in the final round.

Liu's victory marks the first time a Queenslander has won the Australian Championship since 2008 and he will receive the $3,000 first prize.

Correction from the interview - IM Stephen Solomon finished third in the 2008 Australian Open but was the highest scoring Australian. Thus, he became the Australian champion. Notably, the first prize in 2008 was $5,000, $2,000 more than in the 2026 edition. Adjusted for inflation, $5,000 in 2008 would have $7,500-$8,000 buying power today.

Standings

The titular event of the 2026 Australian Chess Championships was held at the commodious Belinda Hutchinson Building at the University of Sydney, and from the get-go, it was clear that the organising committee had pulled out all the stops to put on a professional event. A congratulatory nod must go to the directors of the committee, FAs Winston Zhao Chen and Celina Wu, who continue to push past the normal expectations for such events.

The main event attracted 33 of Australia's top players and while none of the nations top 10 played, nearly half of the field were rated over 2200. The pre-tournament favourites were IM Trevor Tao, Liu, and IM George Xie, the latter of whom has returned to classical chess after a lengthy hiatus. Three former champions in GM Darryl Johansen, IM Solomon, and Gary Lane also threatened to keep the favourites "in check", along with several prodigies, namely FM Reyaansh Chakrabarty, Li, Harvey Zhu, and FM Ryder Testolin.

Three rounds into the event, Liu was the sole leader, though a clash with the top seed Tao relegated him to board 2. 

His stay on board two would be brief, however. After toppling Li with White in round five, Liu would go on to win five more games against 2200+ opposition, including CM Tri Kien Le, FM Sterling Bayaca, Xie, IM David Cannon, and Chakrabarty. Meanwhile, Tao drew the next five games, all but ending his hopes of a maiden title at the age of 48.

Liu felt that his round eight win with Black over Xie in the French Defense was his best. Defeating Xie with White is a monumental task for any player, but defeating an opponent of his caliber with Black was somewhat of a king-maker moment.

In round 11, Yi was felled by a rampaging Soo...

This opened the door for the young Li to push for a win and join Liu in equal first, but the Herculean defense of Bayaca came to the fore and Li was held to a draw in a 116-move marathon. Had Li won his game, a four-game playoff would have been required to decide the Australian champion.

Aside from Yi, who gained 49 FIDE rating points and an IM norm for his performance, the other big gainers were Li, who gained 133 points, Ethan Chang, who gained 52, Ted Power, who gained 44, and CM Leo Kalina, who gained 85 points.

As someone who played in the event, albeit poorly, I can safely say that our Australian chess teams in the not-to-distant future will be impossibly difficult to select. The class of the current generation coupled with the prodigious talents coming through will make us a force to be reckoned with in world chess.