The last Leuven Monthly tournament of 2022 will take place on Sunday, December 18, in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. To allow soccer fans to watch the World Cup final, we will start earlier than usual, at 10:15 already. Please arrive on time, so we can make the pairings and start rolling.
As usual, the tournament will consist of five 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock. Free entry, no registration required. Results of matches between BGFed.be members will be included in the national rating list.
At the same time, the knock-out stage of the Club Championship 2022 will be held. Dan Pascu, Henri Pollet, Johan Segers and Toon Van Herreweghen will play semi-finals and final (9-point matches) to determine the top-3.
After New Year, the Leuven Monthly and Club Championship will reboot on Sunday, January 8, 2023, at the usual hour (12:45) in De Vaart.
On a cold but sunny day, 22 players came together for the 13th Leuven Open on Sunday, November 13, 2022, at the historical site of the Abdijmolen near the Abdij van Park, Heverlee. Following tradition, the tournament format consisted of 7 rounds of 5-point matches, players being paired according to their number of victories — the so-called Swiss system, as implemented in the free ludite software.
De Abdijmolen in Heverlee on Sunday morning (HP)
Toon Van Herreweghen not only administered the tournament but he also won all 7 matches, coming out on top. This is the third time he wins the Leuven Open (previous victories date from 2009 and 2014), and he is thereby the second player to do so — Michel Lamote won in 2011, 2012 and 2018. Besides the traditional coffee/tee mug made for the occasion, Toon won a free entry for the next edition of the tournament, which will take place on Sunday, November 12, 2023.
Leuven Open 2022 podium: Alain Chif (2nd), Toon Van Herreweghen (1nd), Riza Yalçin (3rd)
Toon was followed by a group of four players with 5 victories in 7 matches: Alain Chif, Riza Yalçin, Johan Segers and Dan Pascu. These four players were ranked according to their Resistance Points (RP): the RP of a player is defined as the sum of the scores of the players against whom he or she has played. By this criterion, Alain was ranked second and Riza was ranked third. Both won a coffee mug too, and Alain gets a 50% discount for the next Leuven Open. Congratulations to both too!
Full results of the 13th Leuven Open 2022. Score = Number of victories out of 7 matches. RP = Resistance Points (sum of opponents’ scores). NS = Neustadtl (sum of defeated opponents’ scores). TR = Tournament Rating (Elo rating within the tournament).
In the traditional Fonske challenge between the clubs of Brussels and Leuven, it was Leuven who won a slight majority of interclub matches: Leuven v Brussels 23-21.
Following another tradition, players dancing with a 66 against a 1-point board – the infamous Devil’s Dance – were rewarded for their bad luck with a bottle of Leffe. By the end of the day, most of the 18 bottles had found an owner.
The Leuven Backgammon club is associated to BGFed.be, the Belgian Backgammon Federation, whose financial support is gratefully acknowledged. All participants were BGFed.be member and their match results were registered in the national rating list. The complete match results can be found in that list by selecting Leuven Open as event in the menu on the right.
Thank you to everybody for a great day. The 14th Leuven Open is planned on Sunday, November 12, 2023. Mark your calendar!
All backgammon aficionados are welcome on Sunday October 16 at 12:45 in Squash Club De Vaart (Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele) for the next Leuven Monthly tournament. We will play five rounds of 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock. No registration required, free entry. Matches of BGFed.be members will count for the national rating list.
The tournament is the second stage of the Autumn season of the 2022 Leuven Club Championship. At stake: a spot in the knock-out stage, to be played on Sunday, December 18, which will start exceptionally in the morning at 10:15 already.
Our calendar for November and December:
13th Leuven Open: Sunday, November 13, at 9:30, in the Abdijmolen, Heverlee. Info and registration
Leuven Monthly: Sunday, November 20, at 12:45, in Squash Club De Vaart, Wilsele.
Leuven Monthly: Sunday, December 18, at 10:15, in Squash Club De Vaart, Wilsele.
After the Summer break, we resume the Leuven Monthly series on Sunday, 18 September 2022 in Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele, from 13:00 to approximately 18:30. As usual, we will play five 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock.
Everybody welcome. Free entry. No registration needed. Just arrive on time (12:45), so we can make the pairings.
The tournament will be preceded by the General Assembly of the BGFed.be, the Belgian Backgammon Federation, at 11:00, also in De Vaart. Between the assembly and the tournament there will be time for lunch.
The September tournament is the first of three events in the Autumn season of our 2022 Club Championship. The winner of the Autumn season secures a spot in knock-out stage to be played on December 18.
On Sunday June 19, the 6th Leuven Monthly 2022 tournament was held in our favourite venue, Sport and Squash Club De Vaart in Wilsele. Michel L. demonstrated his skills convincingly by winning all five matches.
The event marked the end of Spring Season of the Club Championship 2022. In view of his results in April, May and June, Johan S. joins Winter Champion Dan P. by securing the second spot in the semi-finals to be played on December 18. The third ticket will go to the winner of the Autumn season (September 18, October 16, November 20), while the fourth spot is reserved for the leader of the overall ranking, apart from those players already qualified. Curious where you’re standing? Then check out the complete ranking.
In July and August, the Leuven Monthly tournaments take a Summer break, but it is not unlikely that we will still organize something. Please keep on eye on this website, or, even more conveniently, subscribe to our newsletter by filling out the little form in the menu on the right-hand side of this page.
The third Sunday of June 2022 is the 19th, and that means: Leuven Monthly backgammon tournament at the Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele.
Please arrive at 12:45 so we can make the pairings and start rolling at 13:00. We play five rounds of 5-point matches with doubling cube and clock. The ludite tournament software guarantees that everybody can play until the end, whether you win or lose.
Free entry. No registration needed. Please bring your board and clock if you have one, but no worries if you don’t.
Everybody welcome. Matches played between members of the Belgian Backgammon Federation BGFed.be (10 euro per year, registration possible at the start of the tournament) count for the national rating list.
Who will secure the second spot in the semi-finals of the Leuven Club Championship 2022? In the Spring Season, Johan S. is leading with 10 points, but Firat and Sebastien are following closely with 8 points, and even Alf (7 points) could make a come-back. [Full ranking.] Let’s play for it!
The May 2022 edition of the Leuven Monthly series will be played not on Sunday May 15 as announced originally but one week later, on Sunday May 22.
The reason for the change of date is the City Triatlon Leuven taking place on May 15 and passing by the Kolonel Begaultlaan. Our venue, the Squash Club De Vaart will be impossible to reach by car. Parking in the neighbourhood will be a nightmare. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this last-minute change of plans.
We play from 13h to 18h30 in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Please arrive at 12h45 at the latest, so we can prepare the pairings and start on time.
We play five rounds of 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock. No problem if you have never played with a clock before, we’ll be happy to explain you how it works.
The tournament is open to all players. There is no registration fee.
Results of matches played between members of the Belgian Backgammon Federation BGFed.be (10 euro per year, registration possible at the start of the tournament) will be registered into the national rating list.
The tournament is the second one out of three of the Spring Season of the Club Championship 2022. At stake is a spot in the semi-finals in December.
Our next tournament, open to everybody, takes place on Sunday, April 10, exceptionally the 2nd Sunday of the month, since the 3rd Sunday is Easter.
Free entry, no registration or membership required, everybody welcome. Please arrive on time (12:45). Venue: Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele.
Optional: matches played between members of the Belgian Backgammon Federation BGFed.be (10 euro per year, registration possible at the start of the tournament) count for the national rating list.
The Leuven Monthly tournament of Sunday, March 20, was also the third and last stage of the Winter season of the Club Championship 2022. At stake: the first spot (out of four) in the knock-out stage to be played on Sunday, December 18.
After the February edition, Henri Pollet and Toon Van Herreweghen were leading the ranking with 9 points. Since Henri could not participate yesterday, Toon became favourite. However, Dan Pascu, with 7 points, started the afternoon by defeating Toon, narrowing the gap to one point. In total, Dan scored 4 victories and Toon only 2, so that they ended at the same score. But because of Dan’s victories over Toon (in January and in March), the tie was resolved to Dan’s advantage. Congratulations!
Congratulations also to Michel Lamote, who achieved a perfect score: 5 victories in a row. In the Club Championship ranking, the points accumulate over the whole year. The fourth and last spot in the semi-finals will go to the highest ranked player who is not already qualified.
We were also delighted to receive some new guests in our monthly tournament. The more experienced members were happy to give explanations, in particular about the doubling cube and the clock, and some even kindly offered some playing advice during the matches themselves.
The next event takes place on Sunday, April 10, the 2nd Sunday of the month, since the 3rd Sunday is Easter. The April, May and June tournaments together comprise the Spring Season. At stake: the second spot in the semi-finals on December 18. The dates for 2022:
Spring: Apr 10, May 15, Jun 19
Autumn: Sep 18, Oct 16, Nov 20
Play-off: Dec 18
Free entry, no registration or membership required, everybody welcome. Please arrive on time (12:45). Venue: Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele.
Optional: matches played between members of the Belgian Backgammon Federation BGFed.be (10 euro per year, registration possible at the start of the tournamen) count for the national rating list.
