National Champions
Australian Chess Champions
Australian chess champions by year, with past winners, championship history, and title records.
This list follows the Australian Championship, not the separate Australian Open. Early match titles and shared championships are retained; each dated edition counts once per listed winner.
Latest recorded champion
Yi Liu
Latest winner in these records: Yi Liu (2026).
Most Championships
Darryl Johansen, 6 championships
First Championship
1885
Champions
35
64 championships
Championship History
The championship began with nineteenth-century matches before developing into a tournament series. Darryl Johansen won six titles, while Ian Rogers won four. The modern championship is normally held in even-numbered years. In 2022 the title went to the highest eligible finisher in the Gold Coast Open.
Australia Champion List
Champions appear from oldest to newest. Shared titles and tied first places appear under each player's name.
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1885 | Frederick Karl Esling |
| 1887 | Henry Charlick |
| 1888 | William Crane |
| 1893 | Albert Edward Noble Wallace |
| 1895 | Albert Edward Noble Wallace |
| 1896 | Albert Edward Noble Wallace |
| 1897(1) | William Crane |
| 1897(2) | Julius Leigh Jacobsen |
| 1906 | William Samuel Viner |
| 1912 | William Samuel Viner |
| 1913 | William Samuel Viner |
| 1922 | Charles Gilbert Marriott Watson |
| 1924 | William Samuel Viner |
| 1926 | Spencer Crakanthorp |
| 1927 | Spencer Crakanthorp |
| 1931 | Charles Gilbert Marriott Watson |
| 1933 | Gary Koshnitsky |
| 1935 | C.J.S. Purdy |
| 1937 | C.J.S. Purdy |
| 1939 | Gary Koshnitsky |
| 1945 | Lajos Steiner |
| 1947 | Lajos Steiner |
| 1949 | C.J.S. Purdy |
| 1951 | C.J.S. Purdy |
| 1953 | Lajos Steiner |
| 1955 | John Purdy |
| 1957 | Karlis Ozols |
| 1957 | Lazare Suchowolski |
| 1959 | Lajos Steiner |
| 1960 | Lucius Endzelins |
| 1963 | John Purdy |
| 1965 | Douglas Hamilton |
| 1967 | Douglas Hamilton |
| 1969 | Walter Browne |
| 1970 | Alfred Flatow |
| 1972 | Maxwell Fuller |
| 1972 | Trevor Hay |
| 1974 | Robert Murray Jamieson |
| 1976 | Serge Rubanraut |
| 1978 | Robert Murray Jamieson |
| 1980 | Ian Rogers |
| 1982 | Douglas Hamilton |
| 1984 | Darryl Johansen |
| 1986 | Ian Rogers |
| 1988 | Darryl Johansen |
| 1990 | Darryl Johansen |
| 1992 | Aleksandar Wohl |
| 1994 | John-Paul Wallace |
| 1996 | Guy West |
| 1998 | Ian Rogers |
| 2000 | Darryl Johansen |
| 2002 | Darryl Johansen |
| 2004 | Gary Lane |
| 2006 | Ian Rogers |
| 2008 | Stephen Solomon |
| 2010 | Zong-Yuan Zhao |
| 2012 | Darryl Johansen |
| 2014 | Max Illingworth |
| 2016 | Bobby Cheng |
| 2018 | Max Illingworth |
| 2020 | Temur Kuybokarov |
| 2022 | Temur Kuybokarov |
| 2024 | Rishi Sardana |
| 2026 | Yi Liu |
Sources
The winners come from the sources below. The notes above explain missing results and which competitions are included.
- Australian Chess Championship historical tables — Historical winners table; see the notes above for gaps in the records.
- Australian Chess Federation honour boards
Last reviewed: October 8, 2026.