Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! You are welcome to show up and play friendly games with people free of charge. However, if you want to play in a tournament you will need to pay membership and tournament fees.

Club nights are open to high school age and above; see Who Can Play below.

To play in tournaments you need to be a member of the NSW Chess Association (NSWCA). As an Illawarra club, our members qualify for the country rate of $10/year, the cheapest tier available.

New to OTB chess? If this is your first time playing over-the-board, we’ll waive your NSWCA membership fee for the year. Just turn up and let the tournament organiser know.

Tournaments cost $5/week paid in advance for the length of the tournament. For example, a 5-week classic tournament will cost $25 upfront.

If you play in a tournament, you will need to register with the NSWCA. If you just show up to play friendly games you will not need to register.

Yes. From 2026 our Tuesday night tournaments and club nights are open to high school age and above.

We play inside Collegians, a licensed club, and the playing area sits alongside a bar area. Collegians has a strict code of conduct and we are guests in their building, so we have set an age limit that we can hold to consistently.

If you are high school age or older, yes. You will need a parent or guardian present for the evening, and you will need to sign in at the door like everyone else.

Yes, quite possibly. Strong young players who have outgrown junior events are exactly who this pathway is for.

To apply, a player below high school age needs one of these ratings:

• An ACF rating of 1200 or above, or a comparable FIDE rating.
• A NSWJCL rating of 600 or above.

Plus both of these:

• Readiness for a full adult tournament. Settling into long games, keeping noise to a minimum, being respectful to other players, and following the venue’s rules without needing a reminder.
• A parent or guardian present for the whole evening.

Email illawarrachess@gmail.com and we will talk it through. The committee looks at each player individually, and we say yes where we can.

Two places, both of them good, and both of them useful for building the rating that gets you a seat on a Tuesday:

• The Wollongong Junior Chess Club runs Thursday afternoons in Fairy Meadow, for anyone under 18. It is a separate club with its own venue and no licensed premises to work around.
• Our free online tournaments on Lichess have no age limit at all, and several of our juniors play in them regularly.

At the Wollongong Collegians Auditorium, 3A Charlotte Street, Wollongong. We play at a licensed club, so you will need to sign in at the door. If you’re a regular you should get a membership with Collegians.

Please view the calendar on the website or our Facebook group.

Absolutely! You will only need to pay the remainder of the tournament length, but you will not be eligible for any prizes.

That’s okay! Just let our tournament organiser know ahead of time. It would be unfair to your opponent to not have a game, so let us know and we can organise for them to play with someone else.

Yes, a little: touch a piece and you must move it, press the clock with the same hand you moved with, and don’t comment on games while they’re in progress. Our Your First Tournament guide walks through all of it in a few minutes, including recording your moves and what to do when something goes wrong.

Registrations close at 6:50pm and we aim to start round 1 by 7pm sharp. This start time is required by the venue, so please arrive a few minutes early. Tournaments typically finish between 9:30pm and 10pm.

We’d recommend showing up any Tuesday, introducing yourself and playing friendly games. If you’re feeling competitive, try a 2-week rapid tournament. Check the calendar for the next one.

We have players of all skill levels! You will fit right in, and you’ll be able to learn a lot from higher-rated players in person.

Yes! Many of our players started by only playing online. You will get used to playing over the board (OTB) quickly.

• Blitz: fast chess. The entire game finishes in under 10 minutes. Standard time controls are 3+2 or 5+0.
• Rapid: medium-speed chess. Games typically run 20 minutes to an hour. Standard time controls include 10+0, 15+10 and 25+10.
• Classic: slow chess. Games typically run over an hour. Standard time control at our club is 60+30.

Both players have 3 minutes each on the clock, and for each move they make they gain 2 seconds. It’s the standard way of expressing a tournament’s time control.