Coming up Classic Championship 2026 21 Jul 2026 Did you know Across all 6,654 rated games at WCC, White wins 48%, Black wins 46%, and 6% end in a draw. Did you know No quarter given: Steve Ascic and Matthew Sweeney have played 25 times, never a draw. Winner 2026 Winter WonderBlitz Kumaresan, Aditya 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 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 In Round 1 at WCC, the lower-rated player has won 13% of decisive games (87 of 649). Winner 2026 June Swiss Soutter, Jake 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 101 WCC tournaments are catalogued on this site. Coming up 960 Classic 2026 15 Sep 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 Wollongong Rapid June Planiden, Chayne Did you know Highest ACF rating ever recorded at a WCC tournament: Jordan Morris at 2204, first at the 2024 Wollongong Blitz Championship. Did you know Largest WCC tournament by field size: 2026 January Classic (39 entrants). Coming up Classic Championship 2026 21 Jul 2026 Did you know Across all 6,654 rated games at WCC, White wins 48%, Black wins 46%, and 6% end in a draw. Did you know No quarter given: Steve Ascic and Matthew Sweeney have played 25 times, never a draw. Winner 2026 Winter WonderBlitz Kumaresan, Aditya 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 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 In Round 1 at WCC, the lower-rated player has won 13% of decisive games (87 of 649). Winner 2026 June Swiss Soutter, Jake 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 101 WCC tournaments are catalogued on this site. Coming up 960 Classic 2026 15 Sep 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 Wollongong Rapid June Planiden, Chayne Did you know Highest ACF rating ever recorded at a WCC tournament: Jordan Morris at 2204, first at the 2024 Wollongong Blitz Championship. Did you know Largest WCC tournament by field size: 2026 January Classic (39 entrants).

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Deep Thinkers - Wollongong Chess Club News

9 November 2025 · Illawarra

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

Round 4 of Graded Spring Classic This Week

7pm start. 5 weeks total. 60 minutes + 30 seconds increment. 1 game per night.

I have attached images with pairings below. The first image is a provisional Swiss Draw for Round 4. The second image is the Round Robin draw for the entire tournament.

Currently Jay and Martin lead the Round Robin with 3 wins from 3 games. Joerg, Greg and Steve have 1 point each. Brendan has 0 points.

Pre Chess Club Rapid Ladder

When: Every Tuesday, 6:00–7:00 pm (games must begin before 6:30)

Time control: 10 minutes + 5 seconds increment

Who runs it: Matthew Sweeney

Cost: Free entry

FIDE World Cup

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is currently running a tournament called the FIDE World Cup. The tournament began on October 30th and will run every day until November 27th. This tournament is a knockout tournament unlike the usual swiss format. This means that if you lose a round, you’re out of the tournament. The two finalists of the World Cup as well as the winner of the third place round will qualify for the Candidates Tournament. The Candidates Tournament is a double round robin of eight players who qualify from multiple tournaments. The winner of the Candidates Tournament will play a match against the reigning World Chess Champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, to decide who is the World Chess Champion.

The FIDE World Cup is broadcast live on YouTube every night at 8:30pm AEST. You can click the link below to watch the broadcast live at 8:30pm AEST and watch replays of any round at any time.

Join us on Facebook!

We have a full calendar up on Facebook now. 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!

We are looking for games or content you want included in this newsletter. 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.