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 Drawing-circle tournament: 2023 Summer Classic, 19% of games drawn (11 of 59). Winner 2026 Winter WonderBlitz Kumaresan, Aditya Did you know Most decisive WCC tournament: 2025 January Holiday Rapid, 1% of games drawn (1 of 84). Did you know 101 WCC tournaments are catalogued on this site. Coming up Blitz Championship 2026 8 Sep 2026 Did you know Prefers Black (≥50 games as each colour): Jye Giddings, 61% as Black vs 41% as White (19-point edge). 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 Longest WCC tournament by round count: 2023 Quick March (12 rounds). 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 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. 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 Biggest tournament upset by seed: Edmund Esterbauer entered the 2022 Champs Warmup as the #10 seed and won outright. 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 Drawing-circle tournament: 2023 Summer Classic, 19% of games drawn (11 of 59). Winner 2026 Winter WonderBlitz Kumaresan, Aditya Did you know Most decisive WCC tournament: 2025 January Holiday Rapid, 1% of games drawn (1 of 84). Did you know 101 WCC tournaments are catalogued on this site. Coming up Blitz Championship 2026 8 Sep 2026 Did you know Prefers Black (≥50 games as each colour): Jye Giddings, 61% as Black vs 41% as White (19-point edge). 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 Longest WCC tournament by round count: 2023 Quick March (12 rounds). 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 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. 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 Biggest tournament upset by seed: Edmund Esterbauer entered the 2022 Champs Warmup as the #10 seed and won outright.

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Deep Thinkers - Wollongong Chess Club News

21 December 2025 · Illawarra

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

Wollongong Chess Club Christmas Party

The final event of the year will take place on the 23rd of December. It will be a hand and brain tournament. Hand and brain is when players are split into teams of two in which one player (the brain) tells the hand (another player) what type of piece to move. For example the brain may say pawn, but not which pawn or where to move it. This creates some ambiguity and fun. There will be no chess club on December 30th. The date we return in the new year is undecided but I will let everyone know by email.

Chess Club Feedback

We are looking for feedback on how the club is run. You can click the link below to answer some questions and let us know what you like and don’t like about our events. You don’t have to answer every question. Even answering one question would be great.

Round Robin Rapid Results

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

Cost: Free entry

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.