A chess prodigy in his youth, he was the third-youngest American to qualify for the title of Grandmaster (after Abhimanyu Mishra and Samuel Sevian), at the age of 14.

This occurred in round 6 at the U.S. Open in Orlando, Florida, when Liang defeated IM Daniel Fernandez (rated FIDE 2401 and USCF 2448 at that time).

[5][better source needed] On November 27, 2011, he won the gold medal in the Under 8 section of the World Youth Chess Championships in Caldas Novas, Brazil.

[7] On July 29, 2012, he became the youngest player ever to defeat a grandmaster (GM) in a standard time limit tournament game.

While playing in the Midwest Open Team Chess Festival in Dayton, Ohio, his win over a Life Master in round 2 brought his estimated USCF rating to 2206.

[16] Liang earned his third and final IM norm in Dallas on November 25, 2015 at 12 years, 7 months and 6 days old, thus becoming the youngest American ever to qualify for the title of International Master.

In May 2017, Liang earned his final two Grandmaster norms in back-to-back tournaments at the Spring Chess Classic in St. Louis (Group B) and the Chicago Open, with the latter won on May 29.

[21][22][6] In October 2022, Liang was invited to play in the US Chess Championship as a wild card, finishing 7.5/13 tied for 3rd place.