The Spring season of the Leuven Club Championship 2023 continues with the Leuven Monthly tournament of Sunday, May 21, in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Please arrive by 12:45 to have your name included in the pairings for the games to start at 13:00.
Free entry, everybody welcome, no registration required. We play five
5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock, and expect to finish by
18:30. Match results between members of the Belgian Backgammon
federation BGFed.be (10 euro per year) are recorded in the Belgian rating list.
Other live Leuven events:
Leuven Monthly 2023 Spring season: May 21, June 18 (complete calendar)
The Winter season of the Leuven Club Championship 2023 comprised the Leuven Monthly tournaments of January, February and March. After three rounds, Markus Förster and Toon Van Herreweghen lead the ranking with 13 points. Since Markus has defeated Toon in January, he wins the Winter title. Congratulations! Markus has thereby secured the first spot out of four in the knock-out stage to be played on December 17. For the full ranking, please see the online spreadsheet.
The Spring season starts with the Leuven Monthly tournament of Sunday, April 16, in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. As always, please arrive by 12:45, so we can start playing at 13:00.
Free entry, everybody welcome, no registration required. We play five 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock, and expect to finish by 18:30. Match results between members of the Belgian Backgammon federation BGFed.be (10 euro per year) are recorded in the Belgian rating list.
Other live club events:
Leuven Monthly 2023 Spring season: April 16, May 21, June 18 (complete calendar)
The next Leuven Monthly tournament will take place on Sunday, March 19, 2023, in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Please arrive no later than 12:45. Free entry. No registration required.
We will play five rounds, 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock. The pairings will made via ludite. We expect to be done by 18:30.
Together with the past tournaments of January 8 and February 19, next Sunday’s tournament completes the Winter Season of the Leuven Club Championship 2023. The winner secures one out of four seats in the knock-out stage on December 17. Henri Pollet is leading with 10 championship points, followed closely by Alain Chif, Markus Förster and Toon Van Herreweghen with 9 championship points. The points continue to add up throughout the year, as the last spot in the knock-out stage is determined on the basis of the overall ranking.
Match results between BGFed.be members (10 euro per year) will be recorded in the Belgian rating list.
Looking forward to welcoming you on one of our live events!
The next Leuven Monthly tournament will take place on Sunday, February 19, 2023, in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Please arrive no later than 12:45. Free entry. No registration required.
We will play five rounds, 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock. The pairings will made via ludite. We expect to be done by 18:30.
Together with the tournaments of January 8 and March 19, next Sunday’s tournament comprises the Winter Season of the Leuven Club Championship 2023. The winner secures one out of four seats in the knock-out stage on December 17. In January, Alain Chif won all five matches, but he’s followed closely by Guy Van Middelem, Henri Pollet and Markus Förster.
Match results between BGFed.be members (10 euro per year) will be recorded in the Belgian rating list.
Looking forward to welcoming you on one of our live events!
Congratulations to Toon Van Herreweghen, Club Champion 2022 (report), and thank you to all participants of the Leuven Monthly events of 2022. We hope you had a great time!
In 2023, we will continue the tournament series and the club championship in essentially the same format. Except for the Summer months, we play each 3rd Sunday of the month in the Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. We kick off the year exceptionally on January 8 already, in view of the Vlissingen Masters on January 14-15. This gives the following dates for 2023:
January 8 (attention: 2nd Sunday)
February 19
March 19
April 16
May 21
June 18
September 17
October 15
November 19
December 17 (play-off club championship)
Please arrive at 12:45, so we can make the pairing and start playing at 13:00. No registration required. Free entry. Matches between BGFed.be members will count for the national rating list.
In addition, the 14th Leuven Open will take place on Sunday, November 12. Mark your calendar!
We wish you relaxing holidays and we look forward to rolling the dice again in 2023!
In the knock-out stage of the Club Championship 2022, four players met each other for semi-finals and finals to determine the top-3. These were Dan Pascu (Winter champion), Johan Segers (Spring and Autumn champion), and Toon Van Herreweghen and Henri Pollet, in view of their spot in the overall club championship ranking. All matches were to be played to 9 points.
In the semi-final between Dan and Johan, it was Johan who took a quick lead with 5-0. But despite advancing to 7-4, he had to let Dan come back to 7-7. In the final game, an early (mandatory) cube was given, and Dan won, to secure the first spot in the final. In the other semi-final, Toon defeated Henri. This meant that the final was to be played between Dan and Toon, while Henri and Johan would fight for the third place. In the final, it was now Dan how took a quick 5-0 lead, but Toon who made a come-back. He eventually won the match and thus the championship title, just over a month after winning the Leuven Open. Congratulations, Toon — and thanks also for the efficient administration! In the other match, Henri won and completed the top-3.
The Club Championship 2022 podium (left to right): Henri Pollet (3), Johan Segers (4), Toon Van Herreweghen (1), Dan Pascu (2).
Besides these matches, a regular Leuven Monthly took place too, with nine participants. The Soccer WC2022 final at 16h meant that some players left early to watch the match and cheer for their favourite team. Nevertheless, some fun and interesting backgammon action took place in the familiar venue of the Squash Club De Vaart in Wilsele.
In 2023, the Leuven Monthly and Club Championship tournament series starts again, in the familiar format. Normally, we play each third Sunday of the month. In January, however, we play exceptionally already on Sunday, January 8, an view of the Vlissingen Masters tournament on January 14-15.
We wish you happy holidays and we look forward to resume live backgammon action in 2023!
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.
