2026 Chess Excellence Open Rounds 1-3

Open SwissStandard

31 players participated in this 3-round tournament, held from 03 May 2026 to 24 May 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. 3 titled players from 2 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 1826, and top seed was Kai Jie Soo (🇦🇺 AUS, FM, 2248).

Kai Jie Soo (🇦🇺 AUS, FM, 2248) won with 3.0/3, ahead of Emma Zhou (2.5) and Aiden Fan (2.5). Soo broke clear in the final round.

Location

🇦🇺Melbourne, Australia

Dates

03 May 2026 → 24 May 2026

Time control

Standard: 90 minutes with 30 second increment from move 1

System

Swiss · 3 rounds

Top seed

🇦🇺FMKai Jie Soo2248

Avg top 10

1,826

Participants

Titled players · 3

FM×1

CM×1

WFM×1

Federations · 2 represented

🇦🇺Australia×29

🇳🇿New Zealand×1

Top 3

🥇
FMKai Jie Soo
🇦🇺AUS·2248
3.0pts·2648perf+4.8
🥈
Emma Zhou
🇦🇺AUS·1713
2.5pts·1868perf+21.2
🥉
Aiden Fan
🇦🇺AUS·1754
2.5pts·1854perf+13.2

How it unfolded

Top 6 · 3 rounds

FM Kai Jie Soo led from R3; +0.5-point edge over the runner-up.

Co-leaders

Soo3Zhou2.5Fan2.5Davis2Rehill2Solomontchik2

R3–R3 · LEAD HELD

FM Kai Jie Soo held the sole lead from R3 through R3 without losing it.

R1–R3 · WIN STREAK

FM Kai Jie Soo won 3 in a row (R1–R3).

Key matchups · top 4

Head-to-head between the four finishers

Player	1	2	3	4
1FMKai Jie Soo	*	—	—	1
2Emma Zhou	—	*	—	—
3Aiden Fan	—	—	*	—
4CMTony J Davis	0	—	—	*

Grille américaine

#	Player	Elo	Fed	R1	R2	R3	Pts	Bu C1	Bu	SB	Perf	Δ
1	Soo, Kai JieFM	2248	AUS	+7B	+8N	+4B	3.0	4.0	6.0	6.00	2648	+4.8
2	Zhou, Emma	1713	AUS	+24B	=5N	+20B	2.5	3.0	3.5	2.50	1868	+21.2
3	Fan, Aiden	1754	AUS	+27N	=6B	+28N	2.5	2.0	2.0	1.00	1854	+13.2
4	Davis, Tony JCM	1799	AUS	+26N	+11B	−1N	2.0	5.0	5.5	2.50	1917	+7.8
5	Milic, James	1627	AUS	+15N	=2B	=12B	2.0	4.0	5.5	3.50	1809	+9.0
6	Wang, Adelyn	1605	AUS	+17B	=3N	=13B	2.0	4.0	5.0	3.00	1765	+16.8
7	Cook, Geoff L	1593	AUS	−1N	+25B	+18N	2.0	4.0	4.5	1.50	1719	+4.4
8	Rehill, Paul	1651	AUS	+30N	−1B	+19N	2.0	4.0	4.0	1.00	1796	+9.6
9	Solomontchik, Daniel	1930	AUS	+23N	F	+10B	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.00	2425	+11.6
10	Xia, Bella	1678	AUS	+21N	+31B	−9N	2.0	3.0	3.0	1.00	1701	+2.0
11	Bambridge, Greg	1646	AUS	+29B	−4N	+17B	2.0	3.0	3.0	1.00	1603	-2.0
12	Thurner, AnyaWFM	1905	NZL	+19B	F	=5N	1.5	3.0	3.0	2.00	1773	-9.2
13	Savige, Colin B	1775	AUS	F	+18B	=6N	1.5	3.0	3.0	2.00	1605	-4.4
14	Fais, Ariana	1518	AUS	=16N	F	+22B	1.5	2.5	2.5	1.75	1885	+37.6
15	Chen, Wenzhi	0	AUS	−5B	=24N	+27B	1.5	2.5	2.5	0.25	1544	0.0
16	Buhagiar, Aden	1787	AUS	=14B	F	+24N	1.5	2.0	2.0	1.25	1698	-3.6
17	Efron, Luca	0	AUS	−6N	+26B	−11N	1.0	4.0	4.5	0.50	1469	0.0
18	FIDE 3299694	0	—	+22B	−13N	−7B	1.0	3.5	4.5	1.00	1530	0.0
19	Fan, Licheng	1533	AUS	−12N	+29B	−8B	1.0	3.5	3.5	0.00	1529	-2.2
20	O`brien, Ned	1666	AUS	+25B	F	−2N	1.0	3.0	3.0	0.50	1579	-8.4
21	Bongrain, Herve	1472	AUS	−10B	−22N	+29N	1.0	3.0	3.0	0.00	1436	-6.4
22	Zhou, Teng	1597	AUS	−18N	+21B	−14N	1.0	2.5	3.5	1.00	1495	-11.2
23	Macmillan, Jonathan	1571	AUS	−9B	F	+30N	1.0	2.0	2.0	0.00	1679	+4.2
24	Finlay, Ross	1491	AUS	−2N	=15B	−16B	0.5	4.0	5.5	0.75	950	-14.8
25	Zuo, Sarah	1445	AUS	−20N	−7N	=26B	0.5	3.0	3.5	0.25	1324	-16.0
26	Akok, Benjamin	1531	AUS	−4B	−17N	=25N	0.5	3.0	3.5	0.25	1429	-5.8
27	Beckman, John	1514	AUS	−3B	F	−15N	0.0	4.0	4.0	0.00	954	-4.0
28	Qi, Jaden	1625	AUS	F	F	−3B	0.0	4.0	4.0	0.00	954	-13.2
29	Pabla, Arya	1407	AUS	−11N	−19N	−21B	0.0	3.0	4.0	0.00	750	-37.6
30	Zhang, Nathan	1428	AUS	−8B	F	−23B	0.0	3.0	3.0	0.00	811	-21.2
31	Rajan, Viaan	0	AUS	F	−10N	F	0.0	2.0	2.0	0.00	878	0.0

Key insights

Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.

Top rating gainers

1Fais, ArianaAUS
+37.6
1.5 pts · #7
2Zhou, EmmaAUS
+21.2
2.5 pts · #2
3Wang, AdelynAUS
+16.8
2.0 pts · #11

Top rating losers

1Pabla, AryaAUS
-37.6
0.0 pts · #30
2Zhang, NathanAUS
-21.2
0.0 pts · #26
3Zuo, SarahAUS
-16.0
0.5 pts · #23