Coming up Classic Championship 2026 21 Jul 2026 Did you know Busiest year at the board: 2023 saw 1822 rated games played at WCC. Did you know Prefers Black (≥50 games as each colour): Jye Giddings, 61% as Black vs 41% as White (19-point edge). Winner 2026 Winter WonderBlitz Kumaresan, Aditya Did you know The Returner, biggest gap between two WCC tournaments by an active regular: Mehmed Ceylan sat out 31 months between the Wollongong 2023 Spring Holiday Rapid and the 2026 April Holiday Rapid. Did you know 247 distinct players have appeared in a WCC tournament. Coming up Blitz Championship 2026 8 Sep 2026 Did you know Most decisive WCC tournament: 2025 January Holiday Rapid, 1% of games drawn (1 of 84). Did you know Longest WCC tournament by round count: 2023 Quick March (12 rounds). Winner 2026 June Swiss Soutter, Jake Did you know Biggest tournament upset by seed: Edmund Esterbauer entered the 2022 Champs Warmup as the #10 seed and won outright. Did you know Marathon night: 158 rated games were played in a single evening at the 2025 Blitz Ladder on 9 September 2025, the club's busiest night at the board. Coming up 960 Classic 2026 15 Sep 2026 Did you know Prefers White (≥50 games as each colour): Siyuan Wu, 63% as White vs 42% as Black (22-point edge). Did you know Busiest month at WCC: April, 898 rated games played across all years on file. Winner Wollongong Rapid June Planiden, Chayne Did you know Biggest final-round flip: at the 2023 Top and Tail Rapid 2, Steve Ascic took a 1-point lead into the last round, lost to Vincent Qiang, and watched the title walk away. Did you know Highest ACF rating ever recorded at a WCC tournament: Jordan Morris at 2204, first at the 2024 Wollongong Blitz Championship. Coming up Classic Championship 2026 21 Jul 2026 Did you know Busiest year at the board: 2023 saw 1822 rated games played at WCC. Did you know Prefers Black (≥50 games as each colour): Jye Giddings, 61% as Black vs 41% as White (19-point edge). Winner 2026 Winter WonderBlitz Kumaresan, Aditya Did you know The Returner, biggest gap between two WCC tournaments by an active regular: Mehmed Ceylan sat out 31 months between the Wollongong 2023 Spring Holiday Rapid and the 2026 April Holiday Rapid. Did you know 247 distinct players have appeared in a WCC tournament. Coming up Blitz Championship 2026 8 Sep 2026 Did you know Most decisive WCC tournament: 2025 January Holiday Rapid, 1% of games drawn (1 of 84). Did you know Longest WCC tournament by round count: 2023 Quick March (12 rounds). Winner 2026 June Swiss Soutter, Jake Did you know Biggest tournament upset by seed: Edmund Esterbauer entered the 2022 Champs Warmup as the #10 seed and won outright. Did you know Marathon night: 158 rated games were played in a single evening at the 2025 Blitz Ladder on 9 September 2025, the club's busiest night at the board. Coming up 960 Classic 2026 15 Sep 2026 Did you know Prefers White (≥50 games as each colour): Siyuan Wu, 63% as White vs 42% as Black (22-point edge). Did you know Busiest month at WCC: April, 898 rated games played across all years on file. Winner Wollongong Rapid June Planiden, Chayne Did you know Biggest final-round flip: at the 2023 Top and Tail Rapid 2, Steve Ascic took a 1-point lead into the last round, lost to Vincent Qiang, and watched the title walk away. Did you know Highest ACF rating ever recorded at a WCC tournament: Jordan Morris at 2204, first at the 2024 Wollongong Blitz Championship.

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Deep Thinkers - Wollongong Chess Club News

26 September 2025 · Illawarra

Find out all about what the Wollongong Chess Club is up to.

Our Club Rapid Championship continues for two more weeks

(30/9 and 7/10)

Our Club Rapid Championship has 3 games per night. The time control is 15 minutes + 10 seconds per move.

First week of Rapid Championship results

Brendan Bermingham brilliancy

Below is a chess puzzle from a game at the first week of our Rapid Club Championship between Brendan Bermingham as white and myself (Koe Bowmaker-Ksiazek) as black. In this position Brendan found a brilliant tactical continuation which is a common chess motif. Can you find it? The answer will be revealed in next week’s Deep Thinkers email. Let me know if you have an interesting position either over the board or online you would like me to share in an email to the club.

Join us on Facebook!

We have a full calendar up on Facebook now. We have also listed it below.

Follow our Facebook Page for further information on calendars and upcoming events.

Join our Facebook Group if you have anything you’d want to discuss!

As we resume our DT newsletter we are looking for games or content you want included. If you have had an interesting position in a game, let us know. If there is something you would like to see at the club or in the newsletter, let us know.