In the last list of the best Grandmasters in each country series, we went over the best Canadian Chess players. Now in this article, we’re going through the ten best Australian Chess players from Australia. We’re going in order from the tenth highest FIDE rated player to the number one spot.
10) James Morris
Full name: Morris, James
Title: International Master (IM) 2010
FIDE Master (FM) 2007
Born: 1994
Federation: Australia
World Ranking: 1103
Rapid: 2351
Blitz: 2397
Classical (Std): 2464
At the age of 12, Morris’ first primary internationally recognized results came in early 2007, when he achieved 5th at the MCC January Invitational and 6th place at the Australian Junior Championship. In March, the 13-year-old won his second national title at the Ballarat Begonia Open (4.5/7), the Doeberl Cup Premier (3.5/7), and the Oceania Zonal (5/9).
He was injured in a fatal vehicle accident on his way home from the Doeberl Cup in 2013 when two other chess players perished. The Melbourne Chess Club Cup Weekender 2013, his first internationally rated tournament since his accident, was a success. Morris scored 7/9 and placed second, half a point behind the winner Zuhao Luke Li, in what was to be his last international event before this year’s Australian Chess Championship.
9) Moulthun Ly
Full name: Ly, Moulthun
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2016
International Master (IM) 2011
FIDE Master (FM) 2011
Born: 1991
Federation: Australia
World Ranking: 901
Rapid: 2502
Blitz: 2468
Classical (Std): 2484
Moulthun Ly is currently the Head of Online Learning at Australian Junior Chess on Cloud, where he produces videos weekly on Molton, his personal YouTube, and the Twitch channel. Moulthun Ly also runs 50 Moves Magazine with assistance from prominent Australian grandmasters like Ian Rogers and Max Illingworth.
8) Max Illingworth
Full name: Illingworth, Max
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2014
International Master (IM) 2012
FIDE Master (FM) 2010
Candidate Master (CM) 2007
Born: 1992
Federation: Australia
World Ranking: 1050
Rapid: 2498
Blitz: 2435
Classical (Std): 2493
At the age of nine, Illingworth became interested in competitive chess. He was a member of the Australian team at the 2007 World Youth U16 Olympiad. He represented his country at the Oceania zonal tournament, which was hosted in Nadi, Fiji.
At the age of 15, he became the youngest grandmaster in history when he outscored everyone else by a margin of 6 points. His result earned him a direct title of Candidate Master by FIDE. Illingworth is a frequent contributor to 50 Moves and the New In Chess Yearbook in Australia and opening articles for ChessPublishing.
Illingworth is a chess coach who has worked with several of Australia’s top junior players. In 2014, he was granted the title of FIDE Trainer by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. Illingworth retired from chess in 2019 to focus on coaching and writing.
7) David C Smerdon
Full name: Smerdon, David C
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2009
Grandmaster (GM) 2009
Born: 1984
Federation: Australia
World Ranking: 872
Rapid: 2562
Blitz: 2513
Classical (Std): 2508
Smerdon created the Fighting Chess Index to investigate how much the best chess players contribute to a player’s success. The General Sir John Monash Foundation, established in his memory, has presented a scholarship to Smerdon.
He has a doctorate in economics from the University of Amsterdam and the Tinbergen Institute, where he studied under Hendrik Vletter.
David Smerdon is now a lecturer at the University of Queensland, with expertise in applied economics; economic development and growth; experimental, behavioral, and evolutionary techniques.
6) Zong-Yuan Zhao
Full name: Zhao, Zong-Yuan
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2008
Grandmaster (GM) 2008
Born: 1986
Federation: Australia
World Ranking: 566
Rapid: Not rated
Blitz: 2545
Classical (Std): 2525
At the age of 14, Zhao became the youngest Australian International Master in history, and he was a member of the NSW Junior Chess League. Zhao was Australia’s top board in the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden, where he scored 6.5 out of 10 with a performance rating of 2620, better than GM Rogers’ tally of 5.5/10 from 2010. He also represented Australia at the 2010 Chess Olympiad, which was held in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia. He had a perfect 9/9 score and won the gold medal with 5 points out of 9 possible.
5) Justin Tan
Full name: Tan, Justin
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2018
International Master (IM) 2015
FIDE Master (FM) 2013
Born: 1997
Federation: Australia
World Ranking: 557
Rapid: 2260
Blitz: 2550
Classical (Std): 2527
At the age of seven, Tan learned to play chess. He was a member of the Australian team at the World Youth Chess Championships four times as a junior. In 2013, Tan was a national artistic gymnast and member of the Australian national gymnastics team. He was the Australian Under-16 pommel horse individual apparatus champion in 2012. Tan graduated in law at the University of Edinburgh in 2020 with a one-year Erasmus program exchange at Utrecht University.
4) Ian Rogers
Full name: Rogers, Ian
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1985
International Master (IM) 1980
Born: 1960
Federation: Australia
World Ranking: 538
Rapid: 2550
Blitz: Not rated
Classical (Std): 2545
In 1996, he was given the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his services to chess. Rogers began his chess career as a high school student in Australia, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from the University of Melbourne. He is married to Cathy Rogers, herself an International Arbiter, Woman FIDE Master, and lawyer.
He is Australia’s first and only chess grandmaster, born and raised in the United States before representing his native country. He was Australia’s top-rated player for over twenty years, and he described his nation at fourteen Chess Olympiads (eleven on first board).
3) Temur Kuybokarov
Full name: Kuybokarov, Temur
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2019
International Master (IM) 2016
FIDE Master (FM) 2010
Born: 2000
Federation: Australia
World Ranking: 437
Rapid: 2134
Blitz: 2330
Classical (Std): 2549
At five, Kuybokarov’s mother and first coach, Tatyana Igonina, taught him chess. He ended up in a tie for first place at the 2010 Asian Youth Championships held in Beijing, China. On tiebreak score, he took home the bronze medal.
In January 2019, Kuybokarov was named one of Western Australia’s Rising Stars. In December, in Melbourne, Kuybokarov took first place at the Australasian Master’s GM norm tournament. Kuybokarov won the Australian Championship in Sydney a few weeks later, making him the first Western Australian to do so in the 135-year history of the tournament.
2) Bobby Cheng
Full name: Cheng, Bobby
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2019
International Master (IM) 2013
FIDE Master (FM) 2010
Born: 1997
Federation: Australia
World Ranking: 432
Rapid: 2379
Blitz: 2453
Classical (Std): 2550
At 12, Cheng won the Australian Junior Championship in January 2010, becoming the youngest player to do so and winning it again in 2011. In 2011, at the age of 12 years and two months, Cheng was named Victorian Champion for a second time. In December 2019, Cheng won the Young Australian Masters with a perfect 9.0/9 score, he is offered a chance to play in the FIDE World Cup in Sochi.
1) Anton Smirnov
Full name: Smirnov, Anton
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2017
International Master (IM) 2014
FIDE Master (FM) 2013
Born: 2001
Federation: Australia
World Ranking: 432
Rapid: 2367
Blitz: 2647
Classical (Std): 2600
In 2014, Smirnov was the Australian junior champion and took home the Australian Grand Prix that year. He’s competed in the Chess Olympiad in 2014 in Norway and Azerbaijan. He also achieved the 20-game norm for the title Grandmaster. Anton’s father, is also a chess player with the title of International Master and Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Sydney.
That concludes the list of the ten best Australian Chess players from Australia. If you like list posts like this, you may also be interested in seeing the ten best Indian Chess players or the best Canadian Chess players.
