Ten players initially entered the 43^rd Ballarat Chess Club championship, including  defending champion Scott Stewart, 7 times champion Kevin Perrin (playing his 43^rd championship tournament!!), and 6 times champion Patrick Cook.

A last minute entry by Jamie Brotheridge necessitated a one week delay to redo the pairings, but brought the entry up to 11 players.

Scott Stewart is top seed and favourite to win his 2^nd title, while 2^nd seed Patrick Cook, 3^rd seed Jamie Brotheridge, and 4^th seed Rob Loveband, are all contenders in the clubs most prestigious event of the year.