BGFed

Author: Johan

  • Live Backgammon in December

    Save the Union-Sandeman, venue of the Backgammon Club Ghent, and please sign the petition.

    Club gatherings

    • Brugge: every Thursday evening, Sports bar Extra Time, Nijverheidsstraat 113, 8310 Assebroek. Contact: Pascal Vanneste, pascal.vanneste.brugge@gmail.com
    • Brussels: every Thursday evening at 18h15, at The Black Beard — La Barbe Noire, Lakensestraat 166 Rue de Laeken, Brussels 1000
    • Ghent: every Tuesday evening, at 19h, at Union-Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent
    • Leuven: Leuven Monthly on Sunday, December 17, from 12:45, at Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele

    Looking ahead

    • Vlissingen Masters, Saturday and Sunday 13-14 January, 2024, Fletcher Hotel-Restaurant Arion, Boulevard Bankert 266, 4382AC Vlissingen, The Netherlands.

  • Save the Union-Sandeman, venue of the Backgammon Club Ghent

    The K.A. Union-Sandeman vzw, a thriving bridge, billiards, and backgammon club, is being evicted from its premises by the city of Ghent after 42 years of rent. The city of Ghent promised to find a solution, but one has not yet been found. At the end of January 2024, the club will have to move out.

    Please consider signing this petition to try and keep this venue as the meeting point of the Backgammon Club Ghent.

    https://petitie.be/petitions/red-de-union-sandeman

    Thank you for your support!

  • Live Backgammon in November

    Congratulations to the club of Brussels, winner of the 4 Cubes 2023!

    Club gatherings

    • Brugge: alternatingly on Thursday or Friday evening, Sports bar Extra Time, Nijverheidsstraat 113, 8310 Assebroek. Contact: Pascal Vanneste, pascal.vanneste.brugge@gmail.com
    • Brussels: every Thursday evening at 18h15, at The Black Beard — La Barbe Noire, Lakensestraat 166 Rue de Laeken, Brussels 1000
    • Ghent: every Tuesday evening, at 19h, at Union-Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent
    • 14th Leuven Open: Sunday, November 12, 2023. Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele. There are 32 confirmed participants already, but there are still a few places left. Registration closes on November 6.
    • Leuven Monthly on Sunday, November 19, from 12:45, at Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele

    Looking ahead

    • Vlissingen Masters, Saturday and Sunday 13-14 January, 2024, Fletcher Hotel-Restaurant Arion, Boulevard Bankert 266, 4382AC Vlissingen, The Netherlands.

  • 4 Cubes 2023: Triumph Against the Odds

    In the wake of their thrilling semi-final victory against Leuven in Spring, the Brussels team, led by captain Guy Van Middelem and featuring Kristoffer De Weert, Ithzak Solsky, Paul van Dijke, and Paulus van Rooijen, had their sights set on redemption. They were determined to avenge their heartbreaking loss in the previous year’s final against Ghent and secure their club’s first-ever championship trophy.

    However, their opponents from Ghent, led by captain Geert Van der Stricht and comprising Robin Bilderbeek, Johan Huyck, Marc van Damme, and Bert Van Kerckhove, were no pushovers. With most of them representing our national BGFed.be Red Beavers team, they were the heavy favorites.

    The duel took place on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, in the beautiful Sandeman clubhouse in Ghent. The tone was set in the initial round of the duel, where Brussels found themselves trailing 4-1 in a race to 8 points. At this point, it appeared as though a one-sided contest was on the horizon, with the prospect of a quick exit back home looming over Brussels. But in true Brussels fashion, their indomitable fighting spirit kicked in, and they managed to level the score at 5-5 after the second round.

    The pivotal decider round, Round 3, would determine the fate of the championship. Guy and Paul secured relatively comfortable victories, yielding a Brussels advantage of 5-7, with only one point needed. However, Paulus and Ithzak faced tough opposition, resulting in a 7-7 draw. The fate of the championship came down to the clash between Kristoffer and Bert.

    For a moment, the outlook appeared uncertain for Brussels, but momentum swung in their favor at just the right time. Kristoffer, battling the clock, fought valiantly and clinched the match with a 7-4 score. With a hard-fought 7-8 victory, Brussels seized the coveted trophy, and the celebrations during the after-party lasted well into the night.

    The 4 Cubes 2023 final team from Brussels proudly showing the 4 trophy after their victory in the Sandeman in Ghent: Kristoffer, Ithzak, Paulus, Guy and Paul. (Photo GVdS)

    We invite you to join us for the presentation of the 4 Cubes at the weekly Brussels evening, hosted at the ‘Black Beard’ (Lakensestraat 166 Rue de Laeken, 1000 Brussels) on Thursday, November 2nd, at approximately 6:15 PM. We look forward to seeing you there.

    Warm regards,

    Guy Van Middelem

  • Live Backgammon in October

    Congratulations to Johan Brisaert, winner and organizer of the 1st Belgian Backgammon Beach Day!

    Club gatherings

    • Brugge: alternatingly on Thursday or Friday evening, Sports bar Extra Time, Nijverheidsstraat 113, 8310 Assebroek. Contact: Pascal Vanneste, pascal.vanneste.brugge@gmail.com
    • Brussels: every Thursday evening at 18h15, at The Black Beard — La Barbe Noire, Lakensestraat 166 Rue de Laeken, Brussels 1000
    • Ghent: every Tuesday evening, at 19h, at Union-Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent
    • Leuven: Leuven Monthly on Sunday, October 15, from 12:45, at Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele

    Looking ahead

    • 4 Cubes 2023: final Ghent vs Brussels on Tuesday, October 24, at Union Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Ghent.
    • 14th Leuven Open: Sunday, November 12, 2023. Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele.
    • Vlissingen Masters, Saturday and Sunday 13-14 January, 2024, Fletcher Hotel-Restaurant Arion, Boulevard Bankert 266, 4382AC Vlissingen, The Netherlands.

  • Successful and Enjoyable 1st Belgian Backgammon Beach Day

    The first edition of the Belgian Backgammon Beach Day took place on Sunday, September 10, 2023, in Hotel-Restaurant Villa Marie-Joseph, Westende, a few blocks away from the beach. Sixteen players were treated on delicious breakfast and lunch while playing seven 5-point backgammon matches in the beautiful retro setting of the hotel. During breaks, ice cream and cocktails could be enjoyed on the sunny terrace.

    Live backgammon action at the 1st Belgian Backgammon Beach Day on September 10, 2023, at the Villa Marie-Joseph in Westende

    Tournament organiser Johan Brisaert took amicable care of his guests while efficiently administering the tournament with the free ludite tournament software. This did not stop him from actually winning the tournament with six victories out of seven matches. Thanks and congratulations! Second and third place were for Johan Segers and Michel Lamote, each winning five matches. The elegant mermaid trophies were generously sponsored by BGFed.be.

    Podium of the 1st Belgian Backgammon Beach Day, on September 10, 2023, in Westende. From left to right: Michel Lamote (3), Johan Brisaert (1, organiser), Johan Segers (2).

  • 14th Leuven Backgammon Open, Sunday 12 Nov 2023

    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.

    Information and registration.

  • The Return of the Vlissingen Blitz Masters

    Paulus van Rooijen invites you to participate in three exciting tournaments in two days:

    On Saturday January 13, 2024: Vlissingen Masters, 5 rounds Swiss system, 9-point matches, 18 min. + 12 sec., to qualify for a play-off (last 8). We expect 60 participants of 10 nationalities who will play in two separate groups: Champions and Advanced, each with a play-off.

    On Sunday January 14, 2024: Play-off last 8 of each group (direct elimination). Superjackpot (direct elimination) 9-point matches, 18 min. + 12 sec. Speedgammon, (Swiss) 5-point matches, 2 min. + 10 sec.

    Venue: Fletcher Hotel-Restaurant Arion, Boulevard Bankert 266, 4382AC Vlissingen, The Netherlands

    Detailed info in the flyer.

  • Red Beaver League: Bert, Johan S. and Maurits book important victories

    In Level 4, Bert Van Kerckhove and Johan Segers awaited the winners of the Level 5 duels Guy Van Middelem and Itzhak Solsky. In Level 5, Maurits Pino and Alain Chif played their Barrage duel.

    Based on recent Performance Rating (PR) performances Bert had to be the favourite against Guy, but the latter is known for his competitiveness and never-give-up attitude. Bert took a good start, winning match 1 (M1, 7-3) with a far better PR: 2-0. Guy regrouped in M2, winning 7-5 and taking advantage of Bert’s below-par PR to score two points: 2-2. All to fight for in M3 then. Guy, who is always at his best when he smells victory, rolled Bert off the board (7-0) and found a decent PR of 7,28. Not enough though to take the two points, as Bert rose to the occasion with a World Class PR of 4,10 (!), thus securing a 3-3 draw and a win based on Overall PR. This means that Bert progresses to Level 3 where he will meet Paul van Dijke. Guy’s aim from now on is to consolidate his conquered ground in Level 4.

    The second much anticipated Level 4 duel was played at Johan’s place in Korbeek-Lo. His opponent was the upstart phenom Itzhak Solsky, who steamrollered the opposition in last year’s RBL Qualifiers (RBLQ) and hammered Maurits Pino in Level 5. Nobody could predict the outcome of this duel and a tense affair it was to be. Itzhak won M1 (7-4), but his 6+ PR was not good enough to take a second point as Johan came up with a strong 4,8: 1-1. After lunch on the shady garden terrace, both players saw the roles reversed in M2: Johan took a 6-0 lead, but Itzhak came back: 6-6. Johan ended up winning the agonizingly difficult DMP game, but his 6+ PR was not enough to beat Itzhak’s extremely strong 3,73 PR (!!): 2-2. With OPR’s now extremely close, M3 was going to be decisive. Johan won it comfortably (7-0), but would he be able to outperform Itzhak? He did, with a stellar 1,46 PR (!!!): 4-2. Itzhak accepted defeat with grace and rewarded both Johan and me (TR) with fantastic impromptu renderings of Chopin and Beethoven on Johan’s home piano, leaving both watchers grateful and visibly moved. Johan now progresses to Level 3 where he will meet Paulus van Rooijen (3 September), whereas Itzhak will play Guy in the Level 4 Barrage duel.

    Having lost their first-round duels in Level 5, Maurits and Alain now need to start winning if they want to stay in the RBL. The duel took place at Maurits’ spacious and airy apartment, optimal playing conditions for a crucial RBL encounter. Maurits won M1 (7-3) with a strong 6+ PR, leaving Alain trailing 2-0. Alain, who staged last season a memorable comeback from 1-5 down against Nick De Ruyck, was not intimidated and won M2 (7-3) with a PR of 9,93, beating Maurits’ PR of 9,99 with an excruciatingly small margin of 0,06: 2-2. Since nobody could be sure if these PRs would hold under the sharper XG ++ analysis, both players remained in the dark as to the exact score, 2-2 or 3-1. That is, however, part of the format as there is no time between matches to do the time-consuming re-analysis. Maurits left nothing to chance in M3: he produced his best PR of the season (5,57!) and eventually won the match after some harrowing turnarounds: 4-2. Note: XG++ did reverse the PRs of M2 to 10,38 (Maurits) vs 10,42 (Alain) yielding an official result of 5-1.

    Maurits can now secure his spot in Level 5 by winning against the loser of the Guy v Itzhak duel, whereas Alain is set to play the winner of RBLQ in the spring of 2024.

    Upcoming program: Paulus van Rooijen v Johan Segers (L3), Paul van Dijke v Bert Van Kerckhove (L3) and Guy Van Middelem v Itzhak Solsky (L4 Barrage).

    For RBL — Michel

  • In memoriam Johan Swyngedouw

    Johan Swyngedouw (26/03/1954 – 03/07/2023), member of the Backgammon Club Brugge

    Johan Swyngedouw, an active member of the Backgammon Club Brugge, passed a way a few days ago. His lively and joyful presence will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his family. Obituary: [web | pdf].

  • BIC 2023 decided by exciting tie-break match

    In the past, the Belgian Individual Championship was a year long gruelling contest with long matches. Maybe too gruelling, and some regular participants lacked the motivation and dropped out. The lockdown gave the final blow to this project. But there was still need for a Belgian Champion and last year an experiment was started with a weekend tournament in Swiss format with 9 rounds of 9 point matches in two days. This proved to be a success. In 2022, main organiser Guy Van Middelem crowned himself champion in the tournament, which was held in the well known Orée Hockey and Tennis Club in Brussels.

    This year, 32 players competed to become his successor in the same venue on the very warm last weekend of June, 24-25. It was an “open tournament” and we welcomed also players from the Netherlands, France and Germany, although only the Belgian title was on stake. Not all the best Belgian players were present, but it was still a good crowd with a lot of quality.

    The playing room in the Orée Hockey and Tennis club, venue of the Belgian Individual Championship Backgammon 2023 on June 24-25.

    The bookmakers in all their wisdom saw about ten favourites, but in this highly competitive environment, nobody was sure of his or her place. Such a tournament is an ideal opportunity to study one’s game and a lot of players filmed their matches, to review their decisions afterwards and hopefully learn something from their mistakes.

    After the first day the bookmakers questioned their own wisdom, because some outsiders took the initiative in the rankings. Sole leader with maximum 5 points was Henri Pollet, followed by Sonja Custers, Paul van Dijke, Ronny Conaert en Archil Katamadze with 4 points. The group of players with 3 points was not yet eliminated, but their task on the second day would not be easy.

    Sunday morning Henri continued his good streak and beat Paul, while Ronny overcame the difficult hurdle of Archil. In a Swiss tournament, it is always possible that one player runs away and is never caught. But in the seventh round Ronny interrupted Henri’s road to the title and now everything was wide open again.

    Ronny and Henri won both their next game, but also both lost in the last round: Ronny from Patrice de Sainte-Marie, and Henri from Paulus van Rooijen. Three players thus shared the first place with 7 points: Ronny, Paulus and Henri. Especially the performance from Paulus was impressive: he lost his first two games to win seven in a row.

    Ronny Conaert (back) in the final of the Belgian Individual Championship 2023 against Paulus van Rooijen (front). Ronny would win the match and secure the title.

    Mutual results was the decisive factor to produce a final ranking. Because Henri had lost from both Ronny and Paulus while the latter two had never met in the tournament, it was decided that these two would play a five-point final for the title. This exciting match was won by Ronny, which gave him the well deserved title of Belgian Champion 2023. Lately, he has been working hard on his game, and his consistency was surely one of the deciding factors in his success.

    Congratulations to the winner and thank you to everybody who contributed to make this tournament a success!

    — Luc Palmans

    PS: The detailed match results can be obtained from the rating list.

  • Live Backgammon in July and August

    Congratulations to Ronny Conaert, winner of the Belgian Individual Championship 2023! Detailed report to follow.

    Club gatherings

    • Brugge: alternatingly on Thursday or Friday evening, Sports bar Extra Time, Nijverheidsstraat 113, 8310 Assebroek. Contact: Pascal Vanneste, pascal.vanneste.brugge@gmail.com
    • Brussels: every Wednesday evening at 18h15, at The Black Beard — La Barbe Noire, Lakensestraat 166 Rue de Laeken, Brussels 1000
    • Ghent: every Tuesday evening, at 19h, at Union-Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent
    • Leuven: the Leuven Monthly series takes a Summer break, but there may be some spontaneous club gatherings. Keep an eye on their website.

    Looking ahead

    • Belgian Backgammon Beach Day: September 10, 2023, Restaurant Villa Marie Joseph, Westende. Contact: Johan Brisaert
    • 14th Leuven Open: November 12, 2023. Sport & Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele
    • 4 Cubes 2023: final Ghent vs Brussels to be planned.

  • Red Beaver League: Guy and Itzhak advance to Level 4

    In Red Beaver League (RBL) duels, three matches to 7 points are played whereby one point is awarded for the match win and one point for the better performance rating (PR). Does this mean the best player always wins? Well, not always, but he certainly has an edge.

    This is what Guy Van Middelem experienced in his opening duel of the season against Alain Chif. At Orée on 29 May Guy won the opening match (1-0) but squandered away the PR point with a 15+ PR (1-1). This gave Alain a realistic opportunity for an upset. The dice gave Alain a little push in the back (he won M2 7-0), which gave him a 1-2 lead, but sadly Alain could not take advantage of Guy’s 10+ PR, so that the PR point went to Guy (2-2). All to play for in M3 then. Guy, under threat of an ignominious defeat, was able to sufficiently lift his level of play to take one point with a fine PR of 8,33 (3-2) and although he lost M3 (3-3) came out the winner with a better overall PR (OPR). A narrow escape for Guy and a missed opportunity for Alain, whose play was just too erratic to topple the 2022 Belgian Individual Champion (BIC).

    The second Level 5 duel was played on 9 June between Itzhak Solsky and Maurits Pino. In the comfortable surroundings of Itzhak’s flat in Uccle, Itzhak made sure he did not fall into the same trap and left no doubt as to his intentions. He won M1 with an excellent 3,73 PR (enough to beat Maurits’ good 7,69 PR) and a match win: 2-0. Maurits, however, had an easy ride in M2 which he won 7-0, but just like Alain, he could not take advantage of Itzhak’s unexpected 10+ PR: 3-1. In M3 Itzhak cruised to a 7-3 victory, which together with a better PR, secured a comfortable win: 5-1.

    These two duels indicate that the stronger player toys with fire if he plays below par. The format is sufficiently volatile to give the underdog an outside chance to win if the favourite comes up with a slapdash performance.

    Itzhak and Guy now progress to Level 4 where they will meet Johan Segers and Bert Van Kerckhove respectively.

    You can find the updated Results and Leaderboard via the RBL 2023 links in the menu.

    — Michel Lamote

  • Live Backgammon in June

    Club gatherings

    • Brugge: alternatingly on Thursday or Friday evening, Sports bar Extra Time, Nijverheidsstraat 113, 8310 Assebroek. Contact: Pascal Vanneste, pascal.vanneste.brugge@gmail.com
    • Brussels: every Wednesday evening at 18h15, at The Black Beard — La Barbe Noire, Lakensestraat 166 Rue de Laeken, Brussels 1000
    • Ghent: every Tuesday evening, at 19h, at Union-Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent
    • Leuven Monthly, Sunday, June 18, at 12h45, at Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele

    Belgian Individual Championship

    Belgian Individual Championship: June 24-25, 2023. Royal Orée, Sint-Pieters-Woluwe. Contact: Guy Van Middelem, guy.van.middelem@gmail.com

    Looking ahead

    To be planned: 4 Cubes 2023 final Ghent vs Brussels

  • Gent Open XVI

    On April 22nd the Gent Open XVI attracted 25 players over 3 categories: 8 masters, 8 intermediates and 9 beginners battled it out for 7 rounds of 7 point matches at the premises of K.A. Union Sandeman.  In the masters, last man standing after 7 rounds was Michel Lamote, who wins back-to-back editions of this tournament!

    Paulus Van Rooijen and Bert Van Kerckhove share 2nd prize.  Jasper Watertor, organizer of the Rotterdam tournaments, wins the intermediates on resistance points and shares prize money with Robin Bilderbeek and Eric De Bouter. Johan Segers wins the beginners division and receives a backgammon book to up his level of play even more!  Maybe next time he can compete in a higher category…

    Everything went fluently and according to the schedule.  A big thank you to Nick De Ruyck for the catering, and to Magda, Roos & Bob for tending the bar.  A special thank you to bgfed.be for the financial support and to Toon Van Herreweghen for the tournament software.

    — Bert Van Kerckhove

  • Red Beaver League 2023-2024 Kick-Off

    Hereby please find the Red Beaver League 2023-2024 Kick-Off document as well as the RBL 2023-2024 Schedule.

    Enjoy your RBL encounters!

    — Michel Lamote

    PS: Interested to join the Red Beaver League Qualifiers? Please write to redbeaverleague@gmail.com

  • Red Beaver League 2022-2023 Wrap-Up

    The maiden Red Beaver League season 2022-2023 has come to an end. First and foremost: thank you to all fifteen participants for playing all twenty-three duels in true sportsmanship spirit and within the set time frame.

    Geert Van der Stricht was the last man standing, becoming BGFed.be 2023 Ultimate Backgammon Champion. Player of the year has to be Robin Bilderbeek, who promoted from Level 5 to Level 2. Itzhak Solsky prevailed in the RBL Qualifiers, winning all his duels in masterly fashion with a below-5 overall PR of 4,80 over twelve matches. A detailed report is to be found in the RBL 2022-2023 Wrap-Up document.

    BGFed.be’s Red Beaver League: Starting grids Seasons 2022-2023 and 2023-2024

    All duels (in RBL and RBL Q) were transcribed and overseen by a Transcriber/Referee, making every duel effectively a RBL threesome. A special thanks therefore to Guy Van Middelem, Nick De Ruyck, Geert Van der Stricht and Robin Bilderbeek for transcribing a big chunk of duels and helping make this start-up season a success.

    RBL wishes everyone an exciting and rewarding 2023-2024 season. The schedule will be released in the upcoming RBL 203-2024 Kick-Off announcement.

    — Michel Lamote

  • Live Backgammon in May

    Club gatherings

    • Brugge: alternatingly on Thursday or Friday evening, Sports bar Extra Time, Nijverheidsstraat 113, 8310 Assebroek. Contact: Pascal Vanneste, pascal.vanneste.brugge@gmail.com
    • Brussels: every Wednesday evening at 18h15, at The Black Beard — La Barbe Noire, Lakensestraat 166 Rue de Laeken, Brussels 1000
    • Ghent: every Tuesday evening, at 19h, at Union-Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent
    • Leuven Monthly, Sunday, May 21, at 12h45, at Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele

    Looking ahead

    To be planned: 4 Cubes 2023 final Ghent vs Brussels

  • How To Avoid Your Worst Blunders

    Blunders. Let’s talk about Blunders.

    Your worst ones. 

    How can you avoid them? Is there a method?

    Continue to read: How To Avoid Your Worst Blunders — by Itzhak Solsky

  • Live Backgammon in April

    Club gatherings

    • Brugge: alternatingly on Thursday or Friday evening, Sports bar Extra Time, Nijverheidsstraat 113, 8310 Assebroek. Contact: Pascal Vanneste, pascal.vanneste.brugge@gmail.com
    • Brussels: every Wednesday evening at 18h15, at The Black Beard — La Barbe Noire, Lakensestraat 166 Rue de Laeken, Brussels 1000
    • Ghent: every Tuesday evening, at 19h, at Union-Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent
    • Leuven Monthly, Sunday, April 16, at 12h45, at Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele

    Looking ahead

  • Red Beaver League: Geert Van der Stricht is 2023 BGFed.be UBC Champion

    After the first four matches of the Red Beaver League Final, Geert was leading 6-2. This meant he only needed two points out of the remaining three matches to become the first Winner of the RBL.

    Marc Van Damme (l) versus Geert Van der Stricht (r) during the final of the Red Beaver League 2022-2023, played on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in the Sandeman (Ghent).

    It was therefore imperative for his opponent Marc to not only win M5, but to do so with a better PR. Marc looked well underway to achieving this, but an avoidable checker-play mistake under extreme time pressure had grave consequences. Marc ended up winning M5, but his PR was just 0,016 too high to earn the PR point: 5,01 v 4,85. The score was now 7-3, which meant Geert only needed one more point out of two matches to take the coveted RBL title.

    Geert did not falter. Realizing this was the match that mattered, he produced his best PR of the duel (2,45) and although this was not enough to take the PR point (Marc played PR 2,17), he won M6 quite easily with 7-2, making him the Winner of the first edition of the RBL and 2023 BGFed.be UBC Champion: 8-4.

    Although M7 was of no importance, Geert and Marc agreed to play it anyway, bringing the final score of the duel to 9-5.

    The Red Beaver League cup, now in possession of BGFed.be UBC Champion Geert Van der Stricht. The cup will be passed on to the winner of the next edition. A player who can win the title three times, can keep the cup.

    True, Geert was lucky to win five of the seven matches, but his OPR (= Overall PR) of 4,34 shows that he thoroughly deserves this title. Congratulations! Marc, on the other hand, only produced his A-game when the calf was drowned and will regret not having managed his time better and having lost four valuable points with 5+ PR’s in Matches 1, 2, 3 and 5. Notwithstanding all this, he produced a noteworthy PR of 4,11, something he can find some solace in.

    As Champion, Geert can now rest on his laurels till the 2023-2024 edition of the Red Beaver League is completed. He will then defend his title against the Challenger, i.e. the winner of RBL 2024.

    Please find the updated Results and Leaderboard via the link in the menu.

    — Michel Lamote

  • Red Beaver League Final: Geert takes advantage of Marc’s offday

    The Final of the Red Beaver League was looked forward to with much anticipation. Insiders expected smooth sailing for Marc Van Damme, as he had scored amazing PRs in his Level 1 duel. Geert Van der Stricht, however, has years of international chess experience under his belt, plenty of stamina, and is by no means a pushover.

    With the dice on his side (Luck Rates of +5, +2,6 and +3,8) Geert quite easily won the opening three matches, but did not manage to do so with below-5 PRs. Astonishingly, Marc (feeling slightly out of sorts after some days of illness) failed to take advantage of this as he ended up with (marginally) worse PRs. In each match he made just one error/blunder too many. The result: a bewildering 6-0 lead for Geert.

    Surely Geert was not going to become BGFed.be UBC Champion with an 8-0 whitewash? M4 was therefore crucial for Marc, who showed commendable resilience. He was able to remain positive, regrouped and won M4 with a winning PR of 2,5: 6-2.

    After all these trials and tribulations Geert is clearly in the driver’s seat: he only needs two points out of the three remaining matches. Marc will be looking for a match win with a better PR in M5, hoping to close the gap to 6-4 and thus keep his chances to become the first winner of the RBL alive.

    — Michel Lamote

  • Belgian Backgammon Beach Day

    Sunday, September 10, 2023

    Playing schedule

    09:00 Welcome, breakfast & coffee/tea
    10:00 Rounds 1 to 3
    13:30 Sandwiches and soup
    14:30 Rounds 4 to 7
    19:00 Prize ceremony

    Registration

    Registration fee: 30 euro. To be paid by bank transfer to

    Johan Brisaert
    BE58 3101 2364 5279
    Please mention your name + BG september Westende

    Max. 26 participants

    Venue

    Restaurant Villa Marie Joseph, Henri Jasparlaan 150, 8434 Westende

    Free wifi. Tram stop at 50m from the hotel. Easy parking in the neighborhood. Beach at 300m

    Format

    Swiss format, 7 rounds, 5-point matches.
    Clock: Bronstein, 10 minutes bank time plus 12 seconds per move.
    🎲🎲

    The day before, Saturday, September 9, in the afternoon or the evening: possibility to come together for the weekend.

  • WBGF 2023 Team Championship: Players Wanted for Belgium’s Red Beavers

    The WBGF 2023 Team Championship will take place in Skopje on August, 21-23. Please see the flyer as well as the regulations.

    The Red Beavers, Belgium’s national backgammon team, plan to participate. Needed are at least 4 and preferably 5 or 6 players to form a team. In previous editions, Belgium has been reasonably successful but has never made it to the money rounds.

    Do you want to play for Belgium? Then please announce your interest to our national coach, Johan Huyck (johan.huyck@wiskin.be), who will make the selection. The conditions to be eligible are light: 1) to be a BGFed.be member and 2) to live in Belgium. It is not required to have the Belgian nationality.

    Red Beaver captain Johan Huyck shaking hands with Masayuki Mochizuki (Mochy) at the WBGF Team Championship 2019 in Budva, Montenegro. On the next board, Michel Lamote is playing Michihito Kageyama (Michi).

  • Introducing Access

    Can our opponent really think they could use the space left behind our checkers as their own personal dumpster?

    Is that even a safe approach?

    Or are they in for some shocking surprises?

    Read all about it (and more!) in my first backgammon article: Introducing Access.

    — Itzhak Solsky

  • 4 Cubes 2023: Ghent’s challenger is known

    Today, Sunday, March 5, Brussels received Leuven in a duel for the right to challenge Gent, holder of the 4 Cubes since 2019. Play took place in one of the bridge rooms of the Royal Orée in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe. Brussels had fielded a strong team: Ithzak Solsky, Kristoffer De Weert, Paulus van Rooijen and Johan Brisaert. But Leuven had sent its rating top as well: Michel Lamote, Toon Van Herreweghen, Ronny Conaert, Johan Segers and Sonja Custers. Fifteen 7-point matches, in three rounds of five, would determine the outcome.

    In Round 1, Leuven took a small 3-2 lead. But in Round 2, Brussels struck back, winning 4 matches out of 5. The score after two rounds was therefore 6-4 to Brussels’ advantage, meaning that 2 victories in Round 3 were already enough for them to win the majority of the 15 matches.

    And so they did, with even one match to spare: 3-2 for Brussels in the last round, and thus 9-6 for them in total, a convincing victory. This means that last year’s Gent-Brussels final will be repeated sometime in the fall.

    Will Gent confirm its title as Belgium’s Best Backgammon Club one more year or will Brussels succeed this time to snatch the trophy home?

  • Live Backgammon in March

    Club gatherings

    • Brugge: alternatingly on Thursday or Friday evening, Sports bar Extra Time, Nijverheidsstraat 113, 8310 Assebroek. Contact: Pascal Vanneste, pascal.vanneste.brugge@gmail.com
    • Brussels: every Wednesday evening at 18h15, at The Black Beard — La Barbe Noire, Lakensestraat 166 Rue de Laeken, Brussels 1000
    • Ghent: every Tuesday evening, at 19h, at Union-Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent
    • Leuven Monthly, Sunday, March 19, at 12h45, at Squash Club De Vaart, Kolonel Begaultlaan 15, 3012 Wilsele

    Looking ahead

    • 4 Cubes 2023 encounter Brussels vs Leuven: March 5, 2023, Royal Orée, Sint-Pieters-Woluwe. The winning team challenges Ghent, winner of the 4 Cubes 2022, for the trophy.
    • Gent Open Backgammon XVI: April 22, 2023. Union-Sandeman, Ghent
    • Belgian Individual Championship: June 24-25, 2023. Royal Orée, Sint-Pieters-Woluwe
    • Belgian Backgammon Beach Day: September 10, 2023, Restaurant Villa Marie Joseph, Westende. Contact: Johan Brisaert
    • 14th Leuven Open: November 12, 2023. Venue to be confirmed

  • Gent Open Backgammon XVI: April 22, 2023

    Dear Backgammon friend,

    I’d like to invite you to participate in the 16th edition of the Gent Open Backgammon tournament which will take place on Saturday April 22, 2023, from 10:00 to 23:00, in the K.A. Club Union Sandeman, Kantienberg 5, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Swiss tournament format, 7 rounds, 7 point matches with clock (Bronstein, 14 minutes per match + 12 seconds per move). Please register in advance. Registration and catering: 25 euro. All information is to be found in the flyer.

    Kind regards,

    — Bert Van Kerckhove

  • Brussels Backgammon Club: New Venue

    The Brussels Backgammon Club is happy to welcome you in their new venue:

    The Black Beard — La Barbe Noire
    Lakensestraat 166 Rue de Laeken
    Brussels 1000

    https://goo.gl/maps/s8eexPekSUwuKExt9

    Everybody welcome for a live game in a friendly atmosphere every Wednesday evening starting at 18h15.

  • Red Beaver League: Marc, Maurits and Nick book important victories

    The Red Beaver League season is getting into its final stages. In Level 1, Marc Van Damme slaughtered Michel Lamote 10-2 while in the Level 5 barrage duel, Maurits Pino came back from 2-4 down against Alain Chif to win 6-4. In RBLQ Nick De Ruyck narrowly defeated Sonja Custers in a crucial promotion duel.

    Marc Van Damme has been the standard bearer of Belgian backgammon for more than 20 years. In the beginning of the century, he was already competing in the international arena and today, after long spells of absence (covid, other interests such as chess) he is back. And how…

    In his first appearance in the RBL Marc started off his Level 1 duel (seven matches to 7) against Michel Lamote with two SGM (= Super Grandmaster) PRs of 1,94 and 2,57, good for a confidence boosting lead: 3-1. In M3, however, Marc’s 4,25 PR was not enough to take the PR point, but luckily a 17-to-1 shot from the bar saved the match so that it was not 3-3, but 4-2. Then Match 4 proved to be the match too many for both Marc and Michel. Marc won the match point and was unhappy with his 7+ PR, but Michel suffered a complete mental meltdown (dejection, fatigue…?) and played a 17+ PR (!). This meant that the opening session of the duel (four matches) ended with a 6-2 score. With his better OPR (= Overall PR), Marc would only need two points out of the last three matches to reach Level O (= the Final).

    The week after, on Tuesday 21 February, both players met again at the Sandeman (Ghent) to play their duel to a finish. Marc delivered the coup de grâce by winning M5 with another SGM PR of 1,77 so that Michel’s PR of 3,00 was of no consequence: 8-2. Although the duel was thereby decided, M6 was played as a gentleman’s gesture: 10-2.

    In short, Marc mercilessly steamrollered Michel into insignificance with a first-rate OPR of 3,43 and progresses to Level 0 where he awaits the winner of the Level 1 duel between Belgium’s numbers 2 and 3, Geert Van der Stricht and Johan Huyck.

    Meanwhile, in the lower regions of the RBL, Maurits Pino staged a remarkable comeback in his Level 5 barrage duel against Alain Chif. After the opening session (three matches), Alain was 4-2 up, but saw his advantage evaporate as Maurits won both M4 and M5 with better PRs: 4-6. Maurits thereby secures his spot in the 2023-2024 RBL Playing Grid whereas Alain will play the runner-up of RBLQ (= the qualifiers) in a last-ditch effort to stay in the RBL.

    In the RBLQ, Nick De Ruyck won a nervy duel against Sonja Custers (3-3/Nick wins narrowly on OPR) and stays in contention for promotion to the RBL. Nick will meet the favourite, Itzhak Solsky, on Wednesday 1 March in the Sandeman.

    Please find the updated Results and Leaderboards by clicking on the RBL tab.

    — Michel Lamote