Winning streak

On Sunday, February 20, eighteen players indulged in the pleasure of live backgammon at the Leuven Monthly tournament in Squash Club De Vaart in Wilsele. Besides many familiar faces smiling happily to see each other again, we were delighted to welcome not less than four new players: Andrei, who came all the way from the Netherlands, and, from Charleroi, Gaetano, his wife Ana and his father Mario.

We followed the usual format: five rounds, 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock. Master of ceremony Toon ensured the pairings were done efficiently, with duels between players having the same number of victories so far, according to the so-called Swiss tournament format.

The tournament was the second stage of the Club Championship 2022. In the ranking, Henri and Toon take the lead with 9 points to claim the Winter title and thereby the first spot in the semi-finals to be held in December. Please find the full ranking via the link in the menu.

The tournament marked the end of a record winning streak by Johan Brisaert: 15 official matches in a row. Amazing! Actually, yesterday, he won even a 16th match, but since his opponent was not a BGFed.be member (yet?), it does not count for the national rating list.

All welcome for the next Leuven Monthly tournament on Sunday March 20, from 13:00 to 18:30, in Squash Club De Vaart (Wilsele). Participation is free, no registration is required, just be on time (12:45), that’s all!

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Leuven Monthly, Sun Feb 20

This Sunday, February 20, we come together in Squash Club De Vaart (Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele) for the next Leuven Monthly tournament. Please be there at 12:45, so that playing can start at 13:00.

We will play 5 rounds of 5-point matches, with doubling cube and clock, according to the Swiss tournament format.

The tournament will be the second round of our Club Championship 2022. Match results of BGFed.be members will count for the national rating list.

Participation is free. No registration required. Simply be on time. See you soon!

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Club Championship 2022: Johan Brisaert takes the lead

On Sunday, January 16, eight backgammon players joined in the Squash Club de Vaart, Wilsele, for the January tournament in the 2022 edition of our annual club championship.

Ranking and detailed match results.

Johan Brisaert won all 5 matches and takes the lead. More impressively even, he has now scored a winning streak of 15 official matches in BGFed.be’s rating list, a new record. Congratulations!

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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)

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Next event: Sunday, December 12, at 1pm, in De Vaart

The next club event will take place on Sunday, December 12, 2021, from 1pm to 6pm, in Squash Club Vaart (Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele).

We’ll play five five-point matches, with clock. Pairings will be done according to the Swiss tournament format. Participation is free. No need to announce your participation, but please be there at 12:45.

Needless to say, we must comply with the health measures for indoor events.

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12th Leuven Open: 11 vs 11, and in the end, Leuven wins

Despite the sanitary situation and the occasional car problem, 22 players spent a lovely day together playing backgammon in the beautifully restored historical surroundings of the Abdijmolen, part of the larger site of the Abdij van Park (Heverlee). As it had been two years since the previous edition, we were delighted to see good friends again and resume our annual tournament series.

After 7 rounds of 5-point matches, it was our own Nader K. Rad who emerged as the only player with 6 victories. Congratulations! Nader was followed by a group of five players with 5 victories: Paulus van Rooijen, Mahir Yalçin, Toon Van Herreweghen, Paul van Dijke, and Sonja Custers. All six laureates received a price, ranging from personalized doubling cubes for the first three to custom-made score boards for those ranked four to six. Please see below for the final ranking of all 22 players.

The laureates of the 12th Leuven Open, very briefly without face mask for the sake of the picture (photo by JB)

For the traditional Fonske challenge, the 22 participants conveniently split into two groups: 11 players from the club of Leuven and 11 players from other clubs, mostly Brussels. Among the matches between a player from Leuven and a player from Brussels & Friends, 22 were won by a Leuven player and 19 by the other player. Well done, Leuven!

The tournament was administered by Toon through the software Ludite (Play! in Latin) that he has been developing last year. Previous versions were thoroughly tested in the online Brabant Ethereal tournament series, also ran by Toon. The software provides a flexible and backgammon-friendly implementation of the Swiss tournament format. Really cool is that it allows players to follow the pairings on their smartphone by scanning a QR code. Thank you, Toon!

Final ranking

In the screenshot below (taken from Ludite), the meaning of the column headings is as follows:

  • Score: the number of victories (out of 7 matches)
  • RP, Resistance Points: the sum of scores of a player’s opponents
  • NS, Neustadtl Score: the sum of scores of a player’s defeated opponents
  • TR, Tournament Rating: a player’s rating (similar to the Elo rating in chess, based on the same statistical model) calculated using the tournament matches only

The results of all 77 matches can be found on BGFed.be’s rating list as of next weekend.

Thank you all for participating and see you next year!

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Leuven Open – practical info

With 24 confirmed players for 24 seats, the 12th Leuven Open on Sunday, November 21, 2021, is going to be a wonderful event. Just a few practical things:

  • Because of the recent decisions by the Belgian government, the Corona Safe Ticket (+ ID card) will be required. Should this mean that, very unfortunately, you cannot participate, then please let us know as soon as possible, and maybe your seat can make somebody on the waiting list happy.
  • As the windows of the playing venue may have to be opened from time to time, a warm sweater may come in handy.
  • The dice will start rolling at 10:00, so please be there at 9:45 at latest, and preferably earlier. Breakfast, included in the fee, will be waiting for you from 9:00.

Venue: Brasserie De Abdijmolen, Abdij van Park 4, 3001 Leuven

Prizes for the Leuven Open 2021
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12th Leuven Open: maximum capacity reached

With 24 participants who have registered and paid the registration fee, the maximum capacity of the 12th Leuven Open, on Sunday, November 21, 2021, has been reached. If you would still like to join, you can enter your name via the registration form, which will serve as a waiting list in case somebody cancels.

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Registrations are open for the 12th Leuven Open

After passing a difficult 2020, it’s time to get back together for a whole day of backgammon in Leuven Open, with special health measures, of course.

Registrations are open now, and you can find more information and register here. Please note that we’re limited to 24 participants this time.

We’re looking forward to seeing you in Leuven Open, on November 21st 2021, in brasserie De Abdijmolen.

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Let’s roll again!

It’s been a while, isn’t it, but we’re so happy we can finally gather again in real life to enjoy our beloved game and each other’s company.

Mark your calendar for the Fall 2021:

  • Sunday, September 19, from 1pm to 6pm, in de Vaart: 5×5 (= five 5-point matches, with clock)
  • Sunday, October 24, from 1pm to 6pm, in de Vaart: 5×5
  • Sunday, November 21, from 10am to 6pm, in de Abdijmolen: 12th Leuven Open. Max 24 participants, preregistration required.
  • Sunday, November 28, from 1pm to 6pm, in de Vaart: 5×5

Our playing venues are as before:

In January 2022, we expect to start our yearly club championship again.

See you soon!

Henri, Johan, Toon, Nader

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