HBCC Junior Club Championship + Reserves Rookies & Juniors 2026

Tournament is catered for beginners, juniors and rookies (including adults) below ACF 1500 or FIDE 1700. 

Venue: Hobsons Bay Chess Club, 108 Queen Street Altona

Rating: FIDE/ ACF Classical Rating

Contact: FA Kuanysh Batyrbekov tournaments@hobsonsbaychess.com 

Chief Arbiter: NA Joemar Lacson

Deputy Chief Arbiters: NA Krishna Bodke, NA Nancy Arora, NA Uma Ramalingam, NA Elisa Watson

Entry: $45 (members only price) $65 (non-members)

Divisions: 8-player Round Robin for the 2026 Junior Club Championship (no "byes" allowed). List of qualifiers available here (still ongoing subject to the results of the Koshnitsky R&J). Regular Swiss format for the Rookies & Juniors Reserves Championship (only club member Juniors are eligible to win the Reserves title, adults can play and win monetary prizes). 

To register as member: https://portal.hobsonsbaychess.com/member/memberships 

Early Bird ends strictly 1 week in advance: 10th October 2026 (SATURDAY), Late Entry $75 with no exceptions. 

Last Day to Register: 15^th OCTOBER 2026 (THURSDAY) for R&J Reserves, preliminary R1 pairings to be distributed on 16th OCTOBER (Friday). Last day to register for the Junior Club Championship is 10th October 2026 (qualifiers must be club members).

Schedule: 6:00 PM - Tournament starts

Format: 7 rounds, 60 minutes + 30 seconds per move (1 round per week), with 2 weeks' break in September (school holidays)

Notation is mandatory

Two Half Point byes available per player between Rounds 1 to 5. Must be notified at least one day in advance of the round.

Eligibility: 

• Unrated  (rating by Close of tournament registration) or
• ACF below 1500 (rating by Close of tournament registration) or 
• FIDE rating below 1700 (rating by Close of tournament registration)
• Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident OR FIDE ID (registered with home country chess federation)
• Non Citizen or PR holder are required to register your FIDE ID with your home country. No exception on this. 

Trophies/ Medals + Cash Prizes

Cash prizes are as below

• First Prize Rating Group 1: $200
• Second Prize Group 1: $100
• Third Prize Group 1: $50
• Rating Group 2 Winner: $50
• Rating Group 3 Winner: $50 (based on number of entries)
• Rating Group 4 Winner: $50 (based on number of entries)

Tournament Rules - please view here