Leuven Monthly 2022

After a forced two-year interruption, we are happy to announce that the Leuven Monthly tournament series will resume in 2022. The series will also be the scene of the annual Club Championship.

Where and when

The tournaments take place monthly on Sunday afternoon from 13:00 to approximately 18:00 in Squash Club de Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele, and this every 3rd Sunday of the month, except for April (because of Easter) and the two Summer months:

• Winter: Jan 16, Feb 20, Mar 20
• Spring: Apr 10, May 15, Jun 19
• Autumn: Sep 18, Oct 16, Nov 20
• Play-off: Dec 18

Since we play in the bar of the Squash Club de Vaart, the sanitary restrictions for pubs and restaurants apply (face mask, Covid Safe Ticket).

Our plans for the Summer are yet to be determined, but in any case, those tournaments will not count for the club championship.

If you wish to receive monthly email reminders, just subscribe to our newsletter via our webpage.

Tournament format

Each Sunday afternoon, we will play five 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock: Bronstein system, 10 minutes bank time plus 12 seconds per move.

Pairings will be made according to the Swiss tournament format. This means that you will be paired with somebody having the same number of victories and that you will not play the same person twice, insofar possible. The player having had the most number of victories at the end of the afternoon is the tournament winner.

In case of an odd number of participants, you can have a bye at most once in the afternoon, for which you are then rewarded by a victory point.

The format is the same as the one already used for our monthly club gatherings in Autumn 2021. In particular, the ludite software will ensure that things run smoothly — thank you, Toon!

Club Championship 2022

The results of the individual tournaments will count for the Club Championship 2022. The championship consists of three seasons and a play-off.

Seasons

There are three seasons: Winter, Autumn and Spring. Each season comprises three Leuven Monthly tournaments.

For the tournaments within a season, you are rewarded a championship point for each

• match victory
• time you have a bye
• tournament participation

There is thus a maximum of 18 points to be gained in a single season (three times five match victories plus three tournament participations).

At the end of each season, a seasonal ranking is made. The first-ranked person is the winner of the season. He or she is qualified for the play-off in December, whatever his or her result in the other two seasons.

In case of a tie at the end of the season, the following criteria will apply, in that order: mutual result in that season, number of victories in that season, number of participations in that season, additional one-point match.

Play-off

Four players will qualify for the play-off on December 18: the season winners (one, two or three different players) completed with the highest-ranked player or players for the three seasons together, apart from the season winners. In case of a tie, the following criteria will apply, in that order: mutual result in the whole year, number of victories in the whole year, number of participations in the whole year, additional one-point match.

The four qualified players will play semi-finals followed by a grand and small final in December. In this way, the top-3 is determined. The overall winner shall be the 2022 Leuven Monthly Champion.

The pairings for the semi-finals will be determined according to the overall ranking after the three seasons: the first against the fourth and the second against the third.

Matches in the play-off are played to 9 points, with clock: Bronstein system, 18 minutes bank time plus 12 seconds per move.

For players not qualified for the play-off, a regular Leuven Monthly tournament will take place (five 5-point matches).

Registration and contact

Participation is entirely free of charge.

No registration is required. Please arrive not later than 12:45, so we can add your name to the list and prepare the pairings for the first round so as to be on time to let the dice roll at 13:00.

The match results will count for the rating list maintained by the Belgian Backgammon Federation BGFed.be, at least for BGFed.be members. If you participate regularly, it is kindly appreciated that you affiliate yourself at the federation. You can do so at the start of each tournament for only 10 euros per year.

Contact

• Henri Pollet (henri.pollet@belgacom.net),
• Johan Segers (jjjsegers@gmail.com, +32 494 29 44 60)