Ballarat Chess Club

Charles Fisher Tournament
Round 1 will commence on Thursday 6th, with the two Round Robins and the open Swiss being the format for the new tournament. Round Robin pairings can be seen on the Fisher Tournament page for the whole 7 rounds. https://ballaratchess.com/fisher.html

Chess Coaching – Term 3, 2026
To all Ballarat Junior Chess Club members, parents, and chess players:
We are very pleased to announce that Chess coaching and games sessions for Term 3 of 2026 are back and present the information and registration details on the BJCC page.
There are some exciting changes coming this term. Simon Rutherford was the coach who started this program at the BJCC in 2020, and he is returning as an additional coach. Simon is a FIDE chess master and has a FIDE rating of 2279. He will take a group of up to 8 advanced students in a separate coaching session in the Hooper Room on the ground floor at the BMI. That group will be chosen from students nominated by Scott Stewart, James Watson and Rob Bailey. This group will have a different format designed by Simon. Students will have a chance of joining this group as places become available after they complete the worksheet program. This should provide students with an incentive for advancement within the existing program. More details about how to enrol here... https://ballaratchess.com/bjcc/index.html

Winter Rapid Round Robin
Thursday 9th in week two of the school holidays we will hold a Round Robin - 5 rounds with 6 players per section, 10 minutes, no increment! Make your moves within 10 minutes or else... no pressure!
GM Darryl Johansen Simultaneous Exhibition Report
For the second year running, GM Darryl Johansen visited Ballarat Chess Club on a cold and wet Thursday evening to play against all contenders up for a challenge.
30 boards upstairs with GM Johansen, 5 boards downstairs with CM Declan Smith, and between them they only conceded one half of a point. Last year three draws were achieved, one by Declan and two from Minsi and her dad, and this year Rob Loveband was the only one to get a half point score in the exhibition. Read more and see the photos here... https://ballaratchess.com/news.html

The 2026 Club Championship has officially concluded. Declan Smith clinched the overall title with a commanding 8/9, finishing just ahead of James Watson on 7.5/9. Making his win back‑to‑back years, he is now poised to join the greats of the club’s history if he delivers again next year — achieving a feat only matched by Van Riel Bas before him.
The B Grade contest proved impossible to separate, with both Methuja and Julian tying on an impressive 6/9. C Grade was won by Morgan Colgrave on 5/9 — a strong start to the event that tapered off in the later rounds, but still enough to secure the title. A breakout performance came from Terrance Wang, the new kid on the block, who dominated the field and finished on 5.5/9 to claim the unrated prize with ease.
The Female Division produced a three‑way tie between Minsadi, Shanaya, and last year’s champion Anna Yated, all finishing on 5/9. A tie‑break will be conducted to determine the final standings and crown the official winners.
The play-offs are as follows: - ⁠Reserves: tie between Julian and Methuja on 6. - ⁠Female champion: 3-way tie on 5 between Anna, Shanaya and Minsi. We look forward to following the play-offs in this exciting finish.
Before the 8th round of the tournament started everyone enjoyed a short celebration of the club's 170th birthday, with photos and food.

Club Championship Round 8
Vipin played the Nimzo‑Indian Defense, a sharp option against d4 c4 Nc3 openings. He played a brilliant game until he missed the move 38.Qxh6 because the pawn was pinned to the king. James Watson didn’t let up, securing a victory over Patrick Cook. Sam Song pulled off a masterful win against Scott Stewart, playing into a Sicilian Dragon including a4, a less common choice. Scott later found himself in a somewhat equal position with a lot of imbalances and a position that was almost impossible to defend; he resigned on move 24 after he had no hope of achieving any points. Davin was given a free lesson by Rob Loveband, and Jamie picked up a quick and comfortable win against up‑and‑coming junior Terrance Wang. Continue report here... https://ballaratchess.com/clubchampionship.html?year=2026

Round 7
The long‑awaited matchup between the club’s strongest players took place on Board 1. Starting with a sort‑of Queen’s Gambit Declined structure, it turned into a long game that finished in a rook‑and‑king vs rook‑and‑king‑and‑pawn endgame, which is a theoretical draw. Declan remarked that “after the move 17.Nb6, I had no real winning chances.” Read more…

https://www.ballaratchess.com/clubchampionship.html

BCC Turns 170 on 16th June 2026
Wear something old this Thursday to invoke some feelings about the first time BCC was formed in 1826, or just bring a pack of chips to share, let's celebrate in some form the continuing existence of our chess club! Even if you forget all that - just being here for a game of chess will be enough!

Club Championship Round 6
Rob Loveband suffered his first loss of the tournament at the hands of Declan on Board 1. Rob went for a London‑style setup with a lot of early trades, but the critical moment came when he played 27.Re3, trying to connect his isolated queen’s pawn and stabilise his structure. Unfortunately, he overlooked the tactical shot 28.Rxe3 fxe3 29.Bg5, where Declan wins a pawn by force. Even if Rob tried to block with the bishop, the resulting king‑and‑pawn endgame was completely winning for Declan, who converted cleanly.
On Board 2, James Watson finally broke through against rival Scott Stewart, defeating him for the first time in classical chess after their previous encounters ended in one loss and two draws. A good result for James.
Continue report here... https://ballaratchess.com/clubchampionship.html

Club Champs: Round 5
Sam Song made it all the way to Board One to meet Declan Smith. Declan played 1.Nf3, a line he usually doesn’t play. It later transposed into a Slav Defense, with Sam going for an early e5. The game was Declan building up a steady advantage move by move, as he usually does. After the move 39.exf6+, although material seemed to be equal, engines give his position a +4 advantage, mainly due to his bishop pair, piece activity, and king positioning. Declan later turned this into a winning opposite‑colour bishop endgame, securing him the point.
Board 2 saw Scott Stewart and Vipin agree on a draw after an uncharacteristically quiet game.
Board 3 saw James Watson play Kynan Thomson, where James won a hard‑fought game with his opponent flagging under severe pressure.
The game between Rob Loveband and Jamie Brotheridge was a classic Queen’s Gambit Declined position, with Jamie playing an unusual 5.Ne5. Rob played the normal setup, later trading a knight for Jamie’s dark‑squared bishop and then his light‑squared bishop for Jamie’s light‑squared bishop, hence trading off both his fianchettoed bishops. The position later opened up, but Jamie played 34.Rxd5?? — the game‑losing blunder — with Rob finding the correct move 34...Qc2!, which picked up all the queenside pawns and the rook. Jamie later resigned in a lost position.
Davin used the Trompowsky against Patrick Cook. Davin played an amazing middlegame, getting into a really good position, where all of a sudden Patrick played the move 24.Rg8??, which blundered mate in one to 25.Rd7 #. However, Davin was too focused on defending his g‑pawn, playing the move 25.g3?? instead of the M1 #. Davin later blundered his advantage into an equal king‑and‑pawn endgame, which Patrick held to a draw.
Declan now leads the tournament with 4.5/5, with Scott Stewart, James Watson, and Rob Loveband all in hot pursuit on 4/5.
Full results here.. https://ballaratchess.com/clubchampionship.html

Club Championship Round 4
Action continued in Round 4 with what was easily the toughest and most intense day of the Championship so far. The club room was packed, with 28 boards in play and the top boards producing especially fierce battles.

Scott Stewart, in good form, met CM Declan Smith on Board 1. The meeting ended in a hard fought draw, but the result doesn't tell the full story. Scott abandoned his usual Morra Gambit and led the game into a Taimanov line that transposed into a Grand Prix Attack. The game quickly spiraled into a frantic, tactical jumble of ideas and precise calculation — the sort of chaos Scott excels in. The game is best savoured in his own words, and his full annotation is well worth a look. See more on the tournament page here - https://ballaratchess.com/clubchampionship.html