General News
10 September, 2026
Chess providing elite pathways
AUSTRALIA’S reigning chess champion has put Trinity Anglican School (TAS) students through their paces during a special master class and fast-paced chess challenge in Cairns.
Queensland-based Yi Liu, the 2026 Australian Chess Champion and a FIDE Master, has visited the TAS White Rock Campus to work with students from the TAS chess program.
The 28-year-old shared his knowledge of strategy, tactics and decision-making before taking on students in a series of against-the-clock ‘blitz’ chess games.
Mr Liu claimed the 2026 Australian Chess Championship in Sydney in January after scoring nine points from 11 games. He was also the 2015 Australian Junior Chess Champion and holds an international chess rating of 2386.
Mr Liu said he spent the weekend helping students prepare for upcoming inter-school tournaments. “I am spending my weekend here in Cairns to help run some extra TAS classes ahead of the upcoming inter-school tournaments, and hopefully everyone in the team can be in the best possible form and shape to play their best,” he said.
Among the TAS students learning from Mr Liu was grade 6 student Ava Naidu, who joined TAS last year and has been playing chess since she was five.
“Finding the strategies opens my mind a bit and helps me in my academic studies,” she said
TAS teacher and chess program coach David Long said the school’s chess program had run for nearly 30 years and was about more than competition.
“No, no, it’s really about human connection, not just on screens. You know, people sitting across the table and being together,” he said.
Mr Long said students could pursue different pathways through the program.
