The New South Wales Chess Association was established in 1900. It is the governing body of chess in NSW and is affiliated with the Australian Chess Federation (ACF), which is affiliated with the World Chess Federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs, FIDE). The NSW Junior Chess League (NSWJCL) and most NSW chess clubs are affiliated with the NSWCA.

The NSWCA runs a range of tournaments including:

• The NSW Championship – usually held between August and October.
• The City of Sydney Championship – usually held between February and April.
• The Interclub Grade Matches – usually held between May and July, involving over 50 teams in various rating divisions.
• Up to five weekend tournaments annually ranging from Category 1 to Category 5 level Grand Prix events on the national GP circuit, administered by the Australian Chess Federation.
• Various Lightning and Rapid-Play tournaments.

In conjunction with the ACF, the NSWCA operates a Rating service for its members.

The NSW Championship dates back well over 100 years. Over 40 years ago, there were many more smaller ethnic chess clubs largely from Eastern Bloc Countries and by 1975 there were almost 100 teams in interclub.

Well over 90% of all interested chess players read chess books or play on the internet, but do not compete. Looking forward, the main objective is to get more chessplayers from clubs competing – more chess everywhere!