Backgammon Club Leuven

In 2025, we continue the tradition of the Leuven Monthly tournaments in combination with the Club Championship. The venue is Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. We play each third Sunday of the month, with a few exceptions: in April we play on the fourth Sunday because of Easter, and we do not organize a tournament in July and August. This gives the following dates for 2025:

• January 19
• February 16
• March 16
• April 27
• May 18
• June 15
• September 21
• October 19
• November 16
• December 21

The tournament format of the Club Championship remains unchanged.

Registration is not required, and participation is free. Please arrive at 12:45, so the pairings can be made and the games can start at 13:00. We play five matches to five points, with clock (10 minutes per match plus 12 seconds per move) and doubling cube. Matches between members of the Belgian Backgammon Federation BGFed.be count for the national rating list.

Contact: Henri Pollet, henri.pollet@belgacom.net.

After three seasons and nine Leuven Monthly tournaments, four players had qualified for the knock-out stage of the Club Championship 2024, played on December 15 in Sport & Squash Club De Vaart in Wilsele. Two semi-finals and two finals would decide upon the final ranking, all matches to be played to nine points.

Sonja Custers first defeated Toon Van Herreweghen in the semi-final to meet Dan Pascu in the final, who had himself won the other semi-final from Guy Van Middelem. Sonja also won the second match, clinching the title, and thereby depriving Toon from winning the championship for the third time in a row. In the duel for the third place, Toon defeated Guy, securing the last of the traditional cups.

The list of Leuven club champions now looks as follows:

• 2024 Sonja Custers
• 2023 Toon Van Herreweghen (report)
• 2022 Toon Van Herreweghen (report)
• 2019 Johan Segers (report)
• 2018 Johan Segers (report)
• 2017 Henri Pollet (report)
• 2016 Kristoffer De Weert (report)
• 2015 Guy Van Middelem (report)
• 2014 Zsolt Tasnadi (ranking)

In 2023, a total of 33 players participated at the Leuven Monthly tournaments, comprising together the Leuven Club Championship. A big thank you to:

• Toon, for the efficient tournament administration,
• Nader, for hosting the website and for distributing the newsletter,
• Miguer and the friendly staff from Squash Club De Vaart in Wilsele,
• All participants for attending our events.

The next Leuven Monthly tournament takes place on Sunday, December 15, 2024, at 12h45 in Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele.

Everybody is welcome, entry is free, and advance registration is not required. We play five 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock, and aim to finish by 18:30. Match results between BGFed.be members are recorded in the national rating list.

Club Championship 2024

At the same moment, the semi-finals and finals of the Leuven Club Championship 2024 will be played by the winners of the three seasons (Winter: Sonja Custers; Spring: Dan Pascu; Autumn: Guy Van Middelem) together with the highest-ranked player in the championship point list (Toon Van Herreweghen). The format is described on https://backgammon-leuven.be/2021/12/26/leuven-monthly-2022/.

Other live playing opportunities

• BBBB-Sports Monthly, Sunday, December 8, 2024, at B.SPORTS, 14 rue de la Basilique, Sint Agatha Berchem.
• Vlissingen Masters, Saturday and Sunday 11–12 January, 2025, in Fletcher Hotel-Restaurant Arion, Vlissingen.
• Leuven Monthly, January 19, 2025, preceded at 11:00 AM by the General Assembly of BGFed.be.
• Belgian Backgammon Double Consultation Tournament, Sunday, February 9, 2025, at Union-Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent.

Congratulations to Markus Förster, winner of the 15th Leuven Open, and to Brussels, for winning the tournament’s Fonske Challenge!

The next Leuven Monthly tournament takes place on Sunday, November November 17, 2024, at 12h45 in Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele.

The event is the last of three stages of the Autumn season of the Leuven Club Championship 2024. At stake: a spot in the semi-final in the Leuven Monthly tournament of December 15.

Everybody is welcome, entry is free, and advance registration is not required. We play five 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock, and aim to finish by 18:30. Match results between BGFed.be members are recorded in the national rating list.

Other live playing opportunities

• BBBB-Sports Monthly, Sunday, December 8, 2024, at B.SPORTS, 14 rue de la Basilique, Sint Agatha Berchem.
• Leuven Monthly, December 15, 2024.
• Vlissingen Masters, Saturday and Sunday 11–12 January, 2025, in Fletcher Hotel-Restaurant Arion, Vlissingen.
• Leuven Monthly, January 19, 2025, preceded at 11:00 AM by the General Assembly of BGFed.be.
• Belgian Backgammon Double Consultation Tournament, Sunday, February 9, 2025, at Union-Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent.

Third Sunday of the month is Leuven Monthly time! We play on Sunday, October 20, 2024, at 12h45 in Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele.

The event is the second out of three stages of the Autumn season of the Leuven Club Championship 2024. At stake: a spot in the semi-final on December 15.

Everybody is welcome, entry is free, and advance registration is not required. We play five 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock, and expect to finish by 18:30. Match results between BGFed.be members (10 euro/year) are recorded in the national rating list.

Leuven Open & more

The 15th Leuven Backgammon Open tournament will take place on Sunday, November 10, also in De Vaart. If you plan to come and haven’t registered already, then now is the time do so: just fill out the registration form.

Other live playing opportunities:

• Living in or around Antwerp? Good news: you can now play live on Wednesday evenings.
• Vlissingen Masters, Saturday and Sunday 11–12 January, 2025, in Fletcher Hotel-Restaurant Arion, Vlissingen.

Just two weeks after the Leuven Monthly tournament of May, it’s already time for the one of June: rendez-vous on Sunday, June 9, at 12h45 in Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele.

The edition is the third stage of the Spring season of the Leuven Club Championship 2024. Dan Pascu is leading the ranking with 10 points, followed by Liliane Baptista with 8 points. At stake: the second spot in the semi-finals on December 15.

Everybody is welcome, entry is free, and advance registration is not required. We play five 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock, and expect to finish by 18:30. Match results between BGFed.be members (10 euro/year) are recorded in the national rating list.

• BGFed.be 2024+ meeting on Friday, June 7, 19h30, at Royal Orée, Sint-Pieters-Woluwe (Brussels).
• Belgian Individual Championship on Sat-Sun June 15–16 at Royal Orée, Sint-Pieters-Woluwe (Brussels).

In May 2024, the Leuven Monthly tournament will take place exceptionally on the 4th Sunday, May 26. In June, we play on the 2nd Sunday, June 9.

As always, you are most welcome in the Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Please arrive by 12:45 for the checkers to start moving at 13:00.

The April, May and June tournaments comprise the Spring Season of the Club Championship 2024. Who will gather sufficient points to secure the second seat in the semi-finals?

Everybody is welcome, entry is free, and advance registration is not required. We play five 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock, and expect to finish by 18:30. Match results between BGFed.be members (10 euro/year) are recorded in the national rating list.