The Greater Worcester Chess Club (GWCC) was founded by chess fanatic and tournament director Donna Alarie. In June, 2007, the club moved to its current location at the Worcester Hibernian Cultural Centre from its prior location at the Sacred Heart Church in Worcester, MA where it had been located since September, 2004. GWCC began holding tournaments at the Grace Baptist Church in Shrewsbury, MA in March 2001.

Typical tournaments are four- or five-round Swiss system events that start at the beginning of each month and last one month, with one game per week being played Thursdays at 7:30PM. Most events are played in one section. The time limit is typically Game 120.

GWCC attracts about a half dozen A-players, but tournaments are usually dominated by FIDE-master John Curdo. John is a bit of a legend in Massachusetts chess: he has been state champion eighteen times and has won over eight hundred tournaments! John has also scored wins over several GM's in tournament play.

In addition to tournament play, GWCC regulars Mike Burba and Brad Wyatt began a Study Group that starts at 7:00PM on Thursdays. The typical Study Group activity is the very informal presentation of a game from various events or positional studies of endgames or other interesting game theories. While the Study Group presenter these days has usually been Mike Odell or Alonzo Ross, anyone is welcome to schedule a presentation. Due to the Study Group and to the competitive, but good-natured players, GWCC is an ideal place for beginners.

The GWCC website was designed by Mike Burba's wife, Swee Kim Lim, who unfortunately does not play chess yet and weekly website updates were usually done by Mike for several years. The GWCC will be forever grateful for the many years of service provided by both of them and for the creation of this website. It is obvious that without their dedication and inspiration, many of the players at the club today might never have known it existed.

As of March, 2008, Donna Alarie has put the webmaster cap on...while just a beginner in the html world, she hopes to be able to add features to the website as she learns new computer skills. GWCC offers something for everyone and we are always willing to listen to new ideas. Please feel free to send an email to Donna Alarie or call her at 508-847-8574. Cheers!