Coming up Classic Championship 2026 21 Jul 2026 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 Busiest month at WCC: April, 898 rated games played across all years on file. Winner 2026 Winter WonderBlitz Kumaresan, Aditya 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 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. Coming up Blitz Championship 2026 8 Sep 2026 Did you know Largest WCC tournament by field size: 2026 January Classic (39 entrants). Did you know 247 distinct players have appeared in a WCC tournament. Winner 2026 June Swiss Soutter, Jake 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 Prefers Black (≥50 games as each colour): Jye Giddings, 61% as Black vs 41% as White (19-point edge). Coming up 960 Classic 2026 15 Sep 2026 Did you know Longest WCC tournament by round count: 2023 Quick March (12 rounds). Did you know Prefers White (≥50 games as each colour): Siyuan Wu, 63% as White vs 42% as Black (22-point edge). Winner Wollongong Rapid June Planiden, Chayne Did you know In Round 1 at WCC, the lower-rated player has won 13% of decisive games (87 of 649). Did you know Busiest year at the board: 2023 saw 1822 rated games played at WCC. Coming up Classic Championship 2026 21 Jul 2026 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 Busiest month at WCC: April, 898 rated games played across all years on file. Winner 2026 Winter WonderBlitz Kumaresan, Aditya 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 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. Coming up Blitz Championship 2026 8 Sep 2026 Did you know Largest WCC tournament by field size: 2026 January Classic (39 entrants). Did you know 247 distinct players have appeared in a WCC tournament. Winner 2026 June Swiss Soutter, Jake 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 Prefers Black (≥50 games as each colour): Jye Giddings, 61% as Black vs 41% as White (19-point edge). Coming up 960 Classic 2026 15 Sep 2026 Did you know Longest WCC tournament by round count: 2023 Quick March (12 rounds). Did you know Prefers White (≥50 games as each colour): Siyuan Wu, 63% as White vs 42% as Black (22-point edge). Winner Wollongong Rapid June Planiden, Chayne Did you know In Round 1 at WCC, the lower-rated player has won 13% of decisive games (87 of 649). Did you know Busiest year at the board: 2023 saw 1822 rated games played at WCC.

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Deep Thinkers - Wollongong Chess Club News

4 January 2026 · Illawarra

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

Blitz Tournament

When: 6th of January 7pm

Location: Wollongong Collegians Auditorium (3A Charlotte Street)

Cost: $5 each week

Time Control: 3+2

Number of Rounds: 11

1 week

Casual Rapid

When: Every Tuesday 6pm-7pm. Games must begin before 6:30pm.

Location: Wollongong Collegians Auditorium (3A Charlotte Street)

Cost: Free entry

Time Control: 10+5

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Deep Thinkers Newsletter

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.