City of Adelaide Chess Champ

On Tuesday, 16 September 2025, Tarush, Year 7, completed the remarkable achievement of winning the open-age City of Adelaide Championship - one of the highest profile Chess Competitions in South Australia. Earlier this year, Tarush was victorious in the City of Adelaide Junior Championship and the State U18 title.

This latest triumph adds to an impressive catalogue of achievements and records Tarush holds. At the start of this year, he delivered a strong performance in the Oceania Zonal Chess Championship, earning his provisional Candidate Master (CM) title - becoming one of only a handful of players in South Australia to do so. To secure the full title, he needed to reach a higher rating on the International FIDE rating list, and over the King’s Birthday long weekend, he accomplished exactly that. Tarush is Prince Alfred College's first-ever CM in Chess. Such an achievement would be notable at any age, but to attain it at just 12 years old is remarkable.

FIDE, the International governing body for chess, awards titles to top-level players based on skill and achievement. The most widely known title is Grand Master (GM), held by players such as World Champion GM Gukesh Dommaraju, former world champion GM Ding Liren, and popular streamer GM Hikaru Nakamura. While GM is the most talked about, FIDE awards four levels: Candidate Master (CM), FIDE Master (FM), International Master (IM) and Grand Master (GM).

South Australia only has a handful of active titled players. This year’s State Championship featured CM Kyle Leaver and FM William Jordan. While there are notable titled players in the state, such as IM Trevor Tao, they rarely compete in major tournaments. Tarush's achievement places him among the top players in South Australia and makes him the youngest titled player in the state - and the 5^th youngest nationally.

Prince Alfred College has run a chess program since the late 1950s and has been a leading chess school in South Australia since the 1970s. The College has been State Champion a record 44 times, and is currently on a streak of 16 consecutive titles. Hundreds of strong chess players have attended PAC, with 245 representing the College in its 53 Intercollegiate fixtures against St Peter’s College. Tarush is the first current student to win the City of Adelaide Championship, and only the second including Old Reds.

This year, Tarush holds a perfect record of 8.0/8 for the College - winning all seven of his Division 1 matches and his Intercollegiate match, all while playing at board 1. He is the youngest to do so in the College’s history. While the 7-3 victory over St Peter’s College, marking our 16^th consecutive win, will be fondly remembered, his standout performance in the final night of Division 1 to secure equal first with Glenunga International High School - and our place in the Australian Schools Teams Championships - should be remembered as his most significant contribution to the College.

Tarush is a remarkable young man with high ambitions for the future. He dreams of becoming the youngest ever State Champion of South Australia - a goal well within his reach, having already placed fourth this year at just 12 years old. For his achievements and unwavering commitment to chess, the Prince Alfred College community is immensely proud.