Chess for everyone! Ballarat Chess
Chess in 2026 at the BMI
Our first event, a two-week Rapid tournament, will start on the 15th of January with 3 of 6 rounds to be played on the night. This is an unrated event and a great way to warm-up for the year ahead.
The year's Programme can be seen here...
60th Begonia Open Chess Tournament 2026
Register here for the 2026 Begonia Chess tournament to be held from the 7 - 9 March, 2026.
Chess Coaching 2026
Chess Coaching is available throughout the year. We welcome enrolments at any time from any junior chess player whether they have been part of the program previously or not.
Term Dates:
Updated soon
For info re coaching, junior tournaments, study resources etc.. visit the Ballarat Junior Chess Club pages.
New to Chess?
A great site for learning the basics from a cool video, improving your chess with puzzles, and playing against QWERTY the chess computer, check out ChessKid.com.
How to write down your games - Chess notation made easy here!
Coffee and Chess
There are some chess sets for use at the following cafes... just ask!
Racers on the lake, Frangos and Homeground, both on Sturt.
Chess is also played at Beechworth Bakery and Woowookarung lookout, but you'll need to take your own set.
Bas' Chess Columns
From April 1991 until March 1993, Bas wrote a fortnightly chess column for the Ballarat Courier. Read them here
