Leuven Monthly & Club Championship 2024

Posted on 29th December 2023 by Johan

In 2024, the Backgammon Club Leuven continues the Leuven Monthly events on Sunday afternoon in Squash Club De Vaart, Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Usually, we play the third Sunday of the month, with the exception of May and June. These are the dates for 2024:

  • January 21
  • February 18
  • March 17
  • April 21
  • May 26 (4th Sunday)
  • June 9 (2nd Sunday)
  • September 15
  • October 20
  • November 17
  • 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. Please arrive by 12:45 for the checkers to start moving at 13:00. We usually finish around 18:30.

Match results between BGFed.be members (10 euro/year) are recorded in the national rating list.

Club Championship

The results of the Leuven Monthly tournaments will also count for the Leuven Club Championship 2024. The tournament format will be the same as in previous years. The winners of the three seasons (Winter, Spring, Autumn) together with the player having the highest overall ranking will play semi-finals and final on December 15. See https://backgammon-leuven.be/2021/12/26/leuven-monthly-2022/ for more details.

15th Leuven Open 2024

Mark your calendar for the 15th Leuven Backgammon Open on Sunday, November 10, 2024, in Squash Club De Vaart!

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Toon succeeds himself as Leuven club champion

Posted on 29th December 2023 by Johan

In the final stage of the Leuven Club Championship 2023, four players had qualified for the semi-finals thanks to their performance in the Leuven Monthly tournaments of 2023: Markus Förster (Brussels), winner of the Winter season, Toon Van Herreweghen (Leuven), winner of the Spring season, Daniel Rozenberg (Brussels), winner of the Autumn season, and Henri Pollet (Leuven), the player with the highest ranking overall apart from the three already mentioned players.

On Sunday, December 17, these four gladiators entered the arena in Squash Club De Vaart, Wilsele, for some fierce dice battles. Nine-point matches would decide upon the laureates. In the semi-finals, Toon defeated Markus while Daniel bested Henri. In the final between Toon and Daniel, it was Toon who came out victorious. In parallel, Markus was the winner of the consolation final against Henri and thereby secured the third place.

The laureates of the Leuven Club Championship 2023, from left to right: Daniel Rozenberg (Brussels, 2nd), Toon Van Herreweghen (Leuven, 1st), Markus Förster (Brussels 3rd).

The list of Leuven club champions now looks as follows:

  • 2023 Toon Van Herreweghen
  • 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 37 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.

See you all in 2024, for the next edition of the Leuven Club Championship!

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Leuven Monthly on December 17

Posted on 20th November 2023 by Johan

You are cordially invited to the Leuven Monthly backgammon tournament on Sunday, December 17, in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Please arrive by 12:45 for the checkers to start moving at 13:00.

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.

Club Championship 2023

At the same time, the play-off stage of the Club Championship 2023 will take place featuring the three season’s champions (Markus Förster, Toon Van Herreweghen and Daniel Rozenberg) and the next highest qualified player (Henri Pollet) on this year’s ranking.

The winner of the semi-finals and final will receive the honorific Club Champion 2023 and join the following illustrious list:

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14th Leuven Open 2023: Record Number of Participants

Posted on 19th November 2023 by Johan

After 7 consecutive editions of the tournament in the Abdijmolen in Heverlee (from 2015 to 2022, except for 2020), we moved this year to the Squash Club De Vaart in Wilsele for the 14th Leuven Open on Sunday, November 12, 2023. The large billiards room was transformed into a backgammon arena hosting 18 boards to allow dice battles for a record number of 36 players.

The billiards room of Squash Club De Vaart in Wilsele, venue of the 14th Leuven Backgammon Open on Sunday, November 12, 2023.

The Swiss tournament format with 7 rounds of 5-point matches ensured everybody could keep on playing until the end, whatever the results. The pairings were efficiently administered by Toon using the free ludite tournament software. A welcome coffee or tea and some pastries made sure everybody was fully energized to play. At lunchtime, the delicious soup and sandwiches prepared by Miguer and the other friendly staff of the Squash Club provided the fuel to make it through the day.

The final ranking was made on the basis of four criteria:

  1. Score (number of victories)
  2. Resistance points (sum of scores of opponents)
  3. Neustadtl score (sum of scores of defeated opponents)
  4. Tournament rating

After 7 rounds, three players had scored 6 victories: Paulus van Rooijen, Daniel Rozenberg and Johan Segers. The second and third criterion above were then invoked to decide upon the ranking between these three.

Final ranking after 7 rounds of the 14th Leuven Backgammon Open. Score = number of victories. RS = resistance points (sum of opponents’ scores). NS = Neustadtl score (sum of defeated opponents’ scores). TR = Tournament rating.
The three players with 6 victories in 7 matches at the end of the 14th Leuven Backgammon Open: from left to right, Daniel Rozenberg, Johan Segers, and Paulus van Rooijen.

The traditional Fonske challenge between the Belgian backgammon clubs of the participating players ended in a narrow victory of Leuven, one point ahead of Brussels, who were in the lead for the most part of the tournament.

The Leuven team, winner of the Fonske challenge at the 14th Leuven Open 2023, after a tight race with the clubs of Brussels, Ghent and Brugge.

Finally, a big thanks to all players who made their precious game equipment (boards, dice, clocks) at the disposal of the tournament.

We hope all participants enjoyed the day as much as we did and we look forward already to the 15th anniversary edition of the Leuven Backgammon Open in November 2024!

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Leuven Monthly on November 19

Posted on 15th November 2023 by Johan

One week after the successful 14th Leuven Open tournament (report to follow soon), it is time already for the Leuven Monthly tournament on Sunday, November 19 in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Please arrive by 12:45 for the dice to roll 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 BGFed.be members (10 euro/year) are recorded in the national rating list.

The tournament will be the third and last one in the Autumn season in the Club Championship 2023. Markus and Toon have already earned a spot in the knock-out stage on December 17. While Daniel and Henri are well placed to claim the two remaining spots, there is still room for some last-minute upsets.

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Leuven Open: New Venue and Other Practicalities

Posted on 8th November 2023 by Johan

Dear participant of the Leuven Backgammon Open,

/!\ Unlike previous years, we will NOT be playing at the Abdijmolen in Heverlee, but rather at the Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Parking is free on the street or in a nearby side street.

The entrance of the Sport & Squash Club De Vaart. Once inside, proceed through a somewhat dimly lit, wide corridor to the end, then take the stairs upwards, following the signs.

You are welcome from 9:00 am. Coffee/tea and pastries will be provided. Please arrive no later than 9:45 am. This will allow us to create pairings, explain some practical matters, and start playing at 10:00 am.

We will play 7 rounds, 5-point matches, with a clock (10 minutes per match + 12 seconds per move). There is a lunch break with soup and sandwiches. You can participate in all rounds, regardless of your results. All participants are BGFed.be members, so all matches count toward the national rating list. In addition to the individual ranking, there is also the Fonske Challenge among the present clubs. The awards ceremony is scheduled for around 6:30 pm.

Please be sure to bring your board and clock. We have a record number of 36 players and will be playing on 18 boards. To ensure smooth operation, we would like to work with fixed board numbers and provide a fixed board and clock at each table. Hopefully, your equipment is available for this purpose – thank you in advance for your cooperation. To all: please handle the available equipment with the utmost care and respect.

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday, November 12th!

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Leuven Monthly on Sunday October 15

Posted on 9th October 2023 by Johan

The next Leuven Monthly tournament takes place on Sunday, October 15 in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Please arrive by 12:45 for the dice to roll 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 BGFed.be members (10 euro/year) are recorded in the national rating list.

In the Club Championship 2023, Markus and Toon have already earned a spot in the semi-final. Two more spots are at stake: all you need to do is to win the Autumn season or end up high in the overall championship ranking.

Last but not least: mark your calendar for the 14th Leuven Open on Sunday, November 12. At the time of writing, 19 players have already registered.

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14th Leuven Backgammon Open, Sun 12 Nov 2023

Posted on 24th September 2023 by Johan

The 14h Leuven Open will take place on Sunday, November 12, 2023, in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Leuven. This is the same venue as the one for the Leuven Monthly tournaments but it is different from last year’s venue.

Please register in advance via the online registration form. The registration fee (including lunch) is €25, to be paid not later than Monday November 6 by bank transfer to Backgammon Club Leuven, BE84 7360 4493 9659.

Information and registration.

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Leuven Monthly in Autumn

Posted on 10th September 2023 by Johan

After the Summer break, the Leuven Monthly tournament series resumes on Sunday, September 17 in Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. Please arrive by 12:45 for the dice to roll at 13:00. Further dates in Autumn are Sunday October 15, November 19, and December 17.

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 BGFed.be members (10 euro/year) are recorded in the national rating list.

In the Club Championship 2023, Markus and Toon have already earned a spot in the semi-final. Two more spots are at stake: all you need to do is to win the Autumn season or end up high in the overall championship ranking.

Last but not least: mark your calendar for the 14th Leuven Open on Sunday, November 12.

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Backgammon afternoon Sunday July 30 in Bistro de Borre, Bierbeek

Posted on 28th July 2023 by Johan

Looking for some live dice action? This Sunday, July 30, afternoon we’ll be playing some friendly matches starting from 13:00 in Bistro de Borre, Wijnenberg 2, 3360 Bierbeek. See you there!

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