WCM Jody Middleton has coached numerous prestigious schools in Victoria, most notably Presbyterian Ladies’ College, who she coached to achieve their sixth-consecutive victory in the Australian Schools Teams Championships in 2021. Jody’s coaching style entails pushing her students out of their comfort zones, as well as encouraging her students to use the ‘teaching method’ to develop a solid and thorough understanding of key concepts. Jody began her chess journey in 2009 with Dark Horse Chess. She began competing in tournaments at the age of seven in 2010, where she would regularly play at the Box Hill Chess Club. Over the next decade, she annually competed in the Australian Junior Chess Championships, where she received titles of the Under 8 Australian Girls Champion (2011), Under 10 Australian Girls Champion (2012), Under 12 Australian Girls Champion (2015), Under 16 Australian Girls Champion (2017), and the title of Australian Girls Champion (2019). She was also a member of the Presbyterian Ladies’ College chess team, who she helped lead to victory consecutively five years in a row at the Australian Schools Championship. Most recently, she was a member of the Australian Chess FIDE olympiad team in 2021, where she played alongside some of Australia’s top chess players including Temur Kuybokarov (GM) and Zhao Zong-Yuan (GM), competing against some of the top countries in chess in the world, including China and Romania. Jody also secured a commendable second place in the Oceania Youth Girls Chess Championship Under 20s, and proudly represented Australia in the World Junior Chess Championships in both 2022, held in Sardinia, Italy, and 2023, held in Mexico City, Mexico, further solidifying her reputation as a formidable competitor on the international stage. Her most notable win was against Australian chess player Jesse Jager (2144) in the 2021 MCC City of Melbourne Open. Jody is an enthusiastic and dedicated coach who offers online and in-person private coaching. Her lessons are aimed at inspiring and nurturing her students to help them achieve their individual chess goals.