In 2008, Yang finished third in a tie-breaker for the under-12 group in the World Youth Chess Championship. This, along with Sam Shankland's identical result for the under-18 group, were top performances for American players.[2]
In April 2011, Yang earned the International Master title at the SPICE Spring Chess Invitational by defeating IM Marc Esserman.[3] Yang had achieved all three IM norms in West Texas.[4][5]
In 2014, Yang won the Texas State Championship, hosted by the Texas Chess Association.[6]
Personal life
From 2015 to 2019, Yang attended Harvard University for a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematical sciences. In 2021, he began pursuing a Ph.D. in economics at Princeton University.[7][8]