St George Club Teams Challenge June 11 – August 6
This is a 9-round team round-robin chess tournament, with games played under a ‘classical’ time control. There will be ten teams with at least five players in each, depending on the level of interest. The Club Captain (Charles Zworestine) places the players into teams such that each team has, ideally, an equal chance of winning the tournament. Within any one team, the players are sorted (by their ACF rating) to play at Board 1, or Board 2, or Board 3, and so on. On any given night, if you have been designated, for example, as a Board 3 player, you will play a single game against a Board 3 player from one of the other teams. As of today (June 10), Charles is still sorting the teams.
NSW Rapid Championships Sunday July 21
A one-day, 7-round tournament, with a reasonably relaxed (for rapid) time control: 15 minutes per game, with a 10 second bonus per move. There are prizes across five divisions, so there always a chance you might get your registration money back! Games are ACF and FIDE rated. The venue is the Sydney Academy of Chess, Burwood. Registration is not yet open but should be announced soon on the NSWCA site.
Sydney Chess Championships July 6-10 2024
This is the new major tournament on the NSW calendar: 9 rounds of classic (90 mins + 30s bonus) chess over 5 days for both of the two divisions: Open (over 1400 ACF) and Classic (under 1600 ACF). There is over $13K in prize money, and already more than 120 players are registered. It’s a tribute to the great work being done by Rooty Hill Chess Club, and Winston Chen in particular. All the details are here.
Previous notices about now-completed or ongoing events of 2024
Georges River Council’s Intergenerational Chess Tournament: Saturday April 20
A fun and free day of chess in the fresh air, at Kogarah Town Square, and it is literally for young and old! Full details here and you can register here. The tournament is a Swiss competition (6 rounds) with a time limit of 15 minutes per player, per game.
City of Sydney Rapid 2024: Sunday April 21
This is a one-day event, a seven round Swiss, and the time control is 15 minutes each per game plus 10 seconds per move. Held at the very comfortable, very reachable Sydney Academy of Chess. Full details here and you can register here.
Chatswood Checkmate Allegro: Sunday May 19
A new event on the NSWCA calendar: a 7 round Swiss with a time control of 10 minutes each per game plus 5 seconds per move. It will be held in the foyer of The Concourse, Chatswood’s prime entertainment venue. Full details here and you can register here.
Georges River Council’s Intergenerational Chess Tournament: Saturday April 20
A fun and free day of chess in the fresh air, at Kogarah Town Square, and it is literally for young and old! Full details here and you can register here. The tournament is a Swiss competition (6 rounds) with a time limit of 15 minutes per player, per game.
City of Sydney Rapid 2024: Sunday April 21
This is a one-day event, a seven round Swiss, and the time control is 15 minutes each per game plus 10 seconds per move. Held at the very comfortable, very reachable Sydney Academy of Chess. Full details here and you can register here.
Doeberl Cup: Canberra, Easter 2024
The most popular fixture of the Australian chess calendar is coming up – the Doeberl Cup. Last year it had a record attendance of over 400 players. Held every year over Easter in Canberra, it offers five divisions to cater to every skill level. All divisions run under a classical time control, and, for some extra spice, there is also a blitz tournament thrown in on Saturday night. The Doeberl website has all the details.
2024 City of Sydney Blitz Championships: Burwood, Sunday March 3
One of the NSWCA’s big annual events, this is a 9 round FIDE-rated Blitz tourney (3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move). For the first time, the NSWCA is using the swanky premises of the Sydney Academy of Chess, a short walk from Burwood Station. There are five divisions: Open; U2000; U1800; U1600 and U1400, with generous prize money in all categories. You can register online here, and full tournament details are here.
2024 St George Club Championships. Starts March 5
Join us for our showcase event of the year – the Club Championships. Why is it so special? Well, first, because this is a round robin tournament, you will only be playing games against players of a similar strength. Second, our extremely diligent Club Captain, Charles Zworestine, scrutinises all of the games, and writes up a captivating report for each round, often giving great tips on what you did, or did not, do so well. Last year, he even managed to help generate digital records of 238 of the 400 odd games of the tournament. No promises for this year, but one way or another, this tournament is going to be a lot of fun, and very instructive.
(coming soon)