Round 1 pairings are attached, to be played on September 28.
| Board | White | September 2026 Rating | Vs. | Black | September 2026 Rating |
| 1 | Jaimie Wilson | 2146 | Vs. | Phil Carr | 1549 |
| 2 | James Wheeler | 1545 | Vs. | Vinuda Gunatilake | 2099 |
| 3 | Bill McDougall | 1981 | Vs. | Ian Richardson | 1524 |
| 4 | Lloyd Jolley | 1512 | Vs. | Remel Ramirez | 1918 |
| 5 | Alfie Edwards | 1888 | Vs. | Ryan Kinzett | 1482 |
| 6 | Alan Reed | 1407 | Vs. | Ian Judd | 1774 |
| 7 | Steve Smith | 1766 | Vs. | Jim Estey | 1355 |
| 8 | Zabiullah | 1350 (estimated) | Vs. | Steve Coe | 1737 |
| 9 | Danial Hardy-Wallace | 1712 | Vs. | Adam Taylor | 1245 |
| 10 | Chris Wheeler | 1245 | Vs. | Graham Ellis | 1681 |
| 11 | Mick Plumb | 1634 | Vs. | Richard Burle | 1202 |
| 12 | Lucas Summers | 1128 | Vs. | Chris Squires | 1629 |
| 13 | Mike Webber | 1623 | Vs. | Penny Cullum | 1128 |
| 14 | Alison Turrell | 1000 (estimated) | Vs. | Kyall Guy | 1549 |