Coming up Classic Championship 2026 21 Jul 2026 Did you know No quarter given: Steve Ascic and Matthew Sweeney have played 25 times, never a draw. 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. Winner 2026 Winter WonderBlitz Kumaresan, Aditya Did you know Longest WCC tournament by round count: 2023 Quick March (12 rounds). Did you know Drawing-circle tournament: 2023 Summer Classic, 19% of games drawn (11 of 59). Coming up Blitz Championship 2026 8 Sep 2026 Did you know In Round 1 at WCC, the lower-rated player has won 13% of decisive games (87 of 649). Did you know 101 WCC tournaments are catalogued on this site. Winner 2026 June Swiss Soutter, Jake Did you know Most decisive WCC tournament: 2025 January Holiday Rapid, 1% of games drawn (1 of 84). Did you know Prefers White (≥50 games as each colour): Siyuan Wu, 63% as White vs 42% as Black (22-point edge). Coming up 960 Classic 2026 15 Sep 2026 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 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 247 distinct players have appeared in a WCC tournament. Coming up Classic Championship 2026 21 Jul 2026 Did you know No quarter given: Steve Ascic and Matthew Sweeney have played 25 times, never a draw. 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. Winner 2026 Winter WonderBlitz Kumaresan, Aditya Did you know Longest WCC tournament by round count: 2023 Quick March (12 rounds). Did you know Drawing-circle tournament: 2023 Summer Classic, 19% of games drawn (11 of 59). Coming up Blitz Championship 2026 8 Sep 2026 Did you know In Round 1 at WCC, the lower-rated player has won 13% of decisive games (87 of 649). Did you know 101 WCC tournaments are catalogued on this site. Winner 2026 June Swiss Soutter, Jake Did you know Most decisive WCC tournament: 2025 January Holiday Rapid, 1% of games drawn (1 of 84). Did you know Prefers White (≥50 games as each colour): Siyuan Wu, 63% as White vs 42% as Black (22-point edge). Coming up 960 Classic 2026 15 Sep 2026 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 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 247 distinct players have appeared in a WCC tournament.

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Deep Thinkers - Wollongong Chess Club News

25 April 2026 · Illawarra

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

Graded Classical Tournament Round 2

When: 28th of April 7pm-10pm

Registration: No later than 6:50pm. If you arrive after that you will miss the round. Half point byes are available for two rounds per tournament besides the last two rounds.

Location: Wollongong Collegians Auditorium (3A Charlotte Street)

Cost: $5 each week

Time Control: 60+30

Number of Rounds: 5 rounds (last round on 19th of May)

Players will be graded into two swiss tournaments by rating. This should ensure more competitive games from round 1. You can join the tournament even if you didn’t play the first round.

Provisional pairings for round 2:

Online Tournaments

Wollongong Chess Club will be organising fortnightly online tournaments on Lichess.

When: 1st of May 7pm-9pm

Registration: No later than 7pm. If you arrive after that you will miss the first round. You cannot join the tournament after round 3.

Cost: Free

Time Control: 8+3

Number of Rounds: 6 rounds. 10 seconds between rounds. If you need to withdraw mid-tournament, please hit the withdraw button before closing your browser.

How to participate and play:

Step 1: Create a lichess account (click the link below).

Step 2: Join the Wollongong Chess Lichess team. The team joining code is WollongongChess. Once you join the team you can see the upcoming tournaments (click the link below).

Step 3: Click the tournament you want to participate in. When you click the link you will be taken to a tournament lobby. You must then click the join button to be registered as a player.

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.