Coming up Classic Championship 2026 21 Jul 2026 Did you know Drawing-circle tournament: 2023 Summer Classic, 19% of games drawn (11 of 59). 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 Most decisive WCC tournament: 2025 January Holiday Rapid, 1% of games drawn (1 of 84). 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 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 Largest WCC tournament by field size: 2026 January Classic (39 entrants). Winner 2026 June Swiss Soutter, Jake Did you know 247 distinct players have appeared in a WCC tournament. Did you know No quarter given: Steve Ascic and Matthew Sweeney have played 25 times, never a draw. 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 Biggest tournament upset by seed: Edmund Esterbauer entered the 2022 Champs Warmup as the #10 seed and won outright. Winner Wollongong Rapid June Planiden, Chayne Did you know 101 WCC tournaments are catalogued on this site. Did you know Across all 6,654 rated games at WCC, White wins 48%, Black wins 46%, and 6% end in a draw. Coming up Classic Championship 2026 21 Jul 2026 Did you know Drawing-circle tournament: 2023 Summer Classic, 19% of games drawn (11 of 59). 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 Most decisive WCC tournament: 2025 January Holiday Rapid, 1% of games drawn (1 of 84). 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 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 Largest WCC tournament by field size: 2026 January Classic (39 entrants). Winner 2026 June Swiss Soutter, Jake Did you know 247 distinct players have appeared in a WCC tournament. Did you know No quarter given: Steve Ascic and Matthew Sweeney have played 25 times, never a draw. 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 Biggest tournament upset by seed: Edmund Esterbauer entered the 2022 Champs Warmup as the #10 seed and won outright. Winner Wollongong Rapid June Planiden, Chayne Did you know 101 WCC tournaments are catalogued on this site. Did you know Across all 6,654 rated games at WCC, White wins 48%, Black wins 46%, and 6% end in a draw.

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Deep Thinkers - Wollongong Chess Club News

22 May 2026 · Wollongong Chess Club

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

Blitz Tournament

When: 26th of May 7pm-10pm

Registration: No later than 6:50pm. If you arrive after that you will miss the first round. Half point byes are available for two rounds per tournament besides the last two rounds. Let the tournament organiser know if you want a bye for any round.

Location: Wollongong Collegians Auditorium (3A Charlotte Street)

Cost: $5 each week

Time control: 5+2

Number of rounds: 9

Who can play: Anyone who knows the rules of chess. If you don’t know the rules of chess we can teach you.

Online Tournament

When: 29th 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, click the withdraw button.

How to participate and play:

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

Create a Lichess account

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).

Wollongong Chess Lichess team

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. Don’t click join until you are there on the night so you don’t register and forget you joined the tournament.

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.