After valiant campaigns in Hungary (2015), Denmark (2016) and Iceland (2017), the Belgium Backgammon Team will compete in the 2018 European Backgammon TeamChampionship in Gibraltar with 6 of our best players.
Due to the fortuitous scheduling of the event in early July, the complete top-5 of the BMS Grading Table will represent Belgium at this high-level event. Only Johan Segers (ranked 6) will be absent due to an overlapping family holiday. Fortunately Guy Van Middelem was able to make himself available to complete the team, notwithstanding loads of other responsibilities and commitments.
The event consists of 7 rounds. In each round, 5 Belgian players will each play a 13-point match against 5 players from another country. After 7 rounds, the four highest ranked countries will play in a Final Four knock-out phase.
This is the Belgium Team : 1) Marc Van Damme 2) Michel Lamote 3) Geert Van derStricht 4) Johan Huyck 5) Walter Meuwis 6) Guy Van Middelem.
The playing schedule : on Tuesday 10 July four rounds will be played (11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm, and 9 pm) and on Wednesday 11 July rounds 5 to 7 are scheduled (10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm).
The Final Four will play semi-finals on Thursday 12 July at 10 am and the final at 3 pm.
Needless to say that this is an extremely demanding and challenging format staged in a prestigious international arena. Our players will have to find their best form in three to four 13-point matches a day and be able to hold their nerve under pressure-cooker conditions. Not only skill, but focus and stamina will be required to achieve success. Nobody can afford to play casually, since all 35 matches (or more…) of Belgium’s Best will be recorded and open for scrutiny.
Aan allen die de zon even uit het oog verliezen om dit te lezen,
Wat voorafging:
Wat hebben de Eburonen te maken met de voorvaders van Kristoffer? Redelijk veel eigenlijk vermits Kristoffer de helft van zijn genetisch materiaal gekregen heeft van een Italiaanse moeder wiens Romeinse voorvaderen in 54 voor Christus in de pan gehakt zijn (met ajuin en pepertjes) in Tongeren, onder leiding van Ambiorix, waarna Caesar naar het thuisfront schreef: “Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae…”
Johan Brisaert vs Kristoffer De Weert (Tongeren, 14 April 2018)
Toen Kristoffer afkwam met de mededeling dat het lentekampioenschap zich zou afspelen in Tongeren dacht ik meteen aan die glorierijke episode uit onze vaderlandse geschiedenis en was ik er al van overtuigd dat dit niet meer kon mislopen. Het spreekwoord van het vel van de beer liet ik gemakkelijkshalve effe in het woordenboek liggen.
Toen ik nadien Sagan seconde per seconde zag uitlopen in Parijs Roubaix was ik er van overtuigd dat dat de tactiek was die ik zou toepassen: op kousenvoeten een voorsprong uitbouwen die niet meer te overbruggen zou zijn, zelf niet met een zesdubbele dubbel zes.
Helaas… het moet zijn dat mijn voorvaderen ergens in het verre verleden ruzie gekregen hebben met de heer Ambiorix op café omwille van één of andere wilde boerendochter en dat er sindsdien een vloek ligt op de prestaties van mijn familie in de oudste stad van ons Belgenland. Alles wat kon fout gaan, ging fout. Daar zien ze me dus niet meer terug.
Over de wedstrijd zelf kan ik kort zijn: is het omdat ik de zon wat in mijn ogen had? Of was het omdat ik ‘s ochtends 14 verdiepingen te voet naar boven moest omdat beide liften het laten afweten hadden en ik daar teveel energie verspeeld had?
Het was Kristoffer die de tactiek van Sagan toepaste en puntje per puntje wegliep tot 3 – 0. In de vierde game echter rook ik mijn kans. Ik had een vijfpuntsbord, en moest één, drie of tien gooien om Kristoffer te hitten en hem naar de bar te verwijzen. Ik verdubbelde in de veronderstelling dat hij zou passen. Toen hij dat niet deed zag ik me al twee punten rijker. Helaas, Ambiorix bekeek me eens scheef vanop zijn sokkel, dacht aan de caféruzie twee millennia geleden met mijn familie, en… der Kri Kri ontsnapte op een zodanige wijze dat de paus dit zeker zal erkennen als een mirakel waarna ze op die plaats een bedevaartoord kunnen oprichten waar kansloze backgammonspelers kunnen komen bidden tot de heilige Kristoffer. In plaats van 3 – 2 verscheen de 5 – 0 op het scorebord. Een zakje bittere tranen later reden we terug de hoofdstad binnen. Helaas, helaas.
Gelukkig is er volgend seizoen terug een kans om mijn vreugdekreet te laten weerschallen over berg en dal. Ons zomerkampioenschap zal plaatsvinden half juli in Turkije, Pamukkale, hotel Dört Mevsim, en dat is de plaats waar ik ooit backgammon leren spelen heb. Dat kan dus niet misgaan. Als ik win spring ik met kledij in het zwembad. Supporters op post!!
[Sinds de zomer van 2014 spelen Kristoffer De Weert en Johan Brisaert, telkens op een andere locatie, een seizoenskampioenschap. Eén wedstrijd per seizoen. Een backgammon wedstrijd tot vijf punten die ze ook laten meetellen voor de rating. Het is een hele leuke traditie geworden waar ze echt naartoe leven. De winnaar mag steeds de volgende locatie kiezen. Zeker de laatste jaren proberen ze telkens een originele plaats te kiezen. Hieronder Johan’s verslag van het winterkampioenschap, gespeeld op 11 maart 2018 aan de Dom in Keulen.]
Aan allen die zijn en komen zullen,
Na het onverdiende fiasco op de Muur (zie: herfstkampioenschap) heb ik heel wat slapeloze nachten doorgebracht op de computer op Xtreme Gammon om mijn niveau naar een hoger punt te brengen. De skills leken me okee toen we de hoofdstad achter ons lieten om ons naar het land van bierworsten en Merkel te begeven. Toen Kristoffer de auto plankgas doorheen de landschap joeg vermoedde ik dat dit te maken had met een enorme faalangst, om af te gaan in ons eerste internationale toptreffen.
Zaterdag hebben we eerst Bonn bezocht, met als culinaire stops ‘s middags een McDonalds’ en ‘s avonds een Burger King. Dit alles weggespoeld met een verfrissende cola, “American juice” zoals ze zeggen. Na Bonn, de oude West-duitse hoofdstad, verplaatsten we ons wat verder naar Keulen, waar de impressionante Dom reeds van ver opdoemde. Hij mag wel eens gereinigd worden met een of ander middel van een bekend wasprodukt, want hij slaat zwart uit tot in het diepste van zijn poriën. Zou een laag douchegel erop spuiten helpen?
Na een goede nachtrust wandelden we dan rustig naar de plaats waar het duel uitgevochten is: Der Döm von Köln. Er waren al heel wat toeristen ter plaatse die waarschijnlijk hun reisdata zo geboekt hadden om dit toch wel historische moment niet te missen. Iets wat ze aan hun kleinkinderen kunnen voortvertellen: een winnaar van de Leuven Open die het daar zomaar opnam tegen een finalist van het Belgische kampioenschap driepunters. Men zou voor minder de spandoeken bovenhalen.
De wedstrijd dan: Zoals verwacht kwam ik vlot voor naar 1 – 0 en 2 – 0. Toen de dobbelstenen me effe in de steek lieten en Kristoffer een dubbel aanbood paste ik wijselijk en ging ik akkoord met de 2 – 1. Hij verdiende wel een eerredder dacht ik zo. Het volgende spel deed me bijna juichen tot er golven van zouden verschijnen op de Rijn. Ik verdubbelde, hij accepteerde en ik won op een haar na een gammon. In plaats van 6 – 1 moest ik echter genoegen nemen met een 4 – 1, wat zeker niet slecht is. De ogen van de toeschouwers werden groter en groter toen ik de dobbelstenen terug op het bord liet rollen om het af te maken. Helaas keerden de kansen toen. Kristoffer won met wat geluk een gammon en kwam terug tot 4 – 3.
Zegezeker vatte ik het laatste spel aan. Kristoffer verdubbelde, ik accepteerde en… iets daarna, de klok van de Dom stond op vijf voor twaalf, hoorde ik het donderen in Keulen. Terwijl ik het ganse spel voorgestaan had en Kristoffer zich al neergelegd had bij zijn nederlaag, slaagde hij er toch nog in om dat laatste spel te winnen. Tot enkele rollen van het einde was het spannend. Dit was wellicht het spannendste seizoenskampioenschap dat we ooit gespeeld hebben. Maar helaas: in mijn nachtmerries hoor ik het nog steeds donderen in Keulen want Kristoffer won vrij verrassend met 4 – 5. Duitsland ligt me blijkbaar niet. Niet als dienstplichtig soldaat in 1990 (krijgsgevangene van de Belgische Staat) en niet nu. Helaas, driewerf helaas.
Het zal voor in de lente zijn. Kristoffer heeft de eer om de plaats aan te duiden waar hij in de lente wil verliezen (hoop ik). Komt dat zien!
Last call for the 2nd Belgium Championship 3-point matches, 14 rounds, on Saturday the 24th of February, in la Réserve du Roseau, rue du Roseau – Rietstraat, 60 in 1180 Brussels, very easy parking. See all info on the included flyers : [ EN | NL | FR ].
The international backgammon event in Gibraltar (8-10 February) ranks among the most prominent tournaments in the world. Top players from all over the globe compete for victory. Several grandmasters from Denmark are present (Trabolt, Noehr, Myhr, Bredahl, …), as well as the crème de la crème from Germany (Orlowski, Papachristopoulos, Jonas, Söhnchen, Sonnabend, …), the UK (Wilkinson, Bennet, Hurst, McAlpine, …), the USA (McLaughlin, Edilson, Bauer, Matig, Neagu, …), Japan (Akiko, Kenji), Norway (Snarheim, Liby, Farewag, Kritikos, …), and other countries like Switzerland, France, etc.
Marc in the semi against Jack Edilson (r)
In this eminent and tough field, Belgium’s number 1, Marc Van Damme, succeeded in excelling. He won 5 matches in a row in the preliminary round of 11-pointers, thus gaining a bye in the final sheet of the last 32. There he eliminated the recent winner of the New York Metropolitan Open, Kimon Papachristopoulos in a crazy 15-pointer which took 21 games and culminated in a thrilling DMP-game. In the 1/4 finals Marc swept RuneFarewag (NO) off the table with exciting, aggressive play (and some luck, of course…), only to succumb to Jack Edilson (USA) in the semis. Marc reached a 15-11 lead (match to 17), but eventually saw victory slip away.
Marc’s matches against Farewag and Edilson can be watched on YouTube.
Paulus (l) with tournament Director Arda and opponent Vincent.
64 players entered the Speedgammon event in Dubrovnik, Croatia. In Speedgammon, players get 2 minutes thinking time with 10 seconds increment for a 5-point match.
Paulus Van Rooijen (Brugge BC) was able to string 6 victories together, winning the final against Vincent De Nardi (Fr). A more than noteworthy achievement!
Marc Van Damme is the only player in Belgium who currently holds a Master (Class 1) grading (< 4,75 PR). At the most recent Brussels Backgammon Day his performance over ten 5-point matches was almost exactly the same as his ranking on the BMS Grading Table reflects :
PR Marc Van Damme (10 x 5)
Marc was one of 6 players who won 7 matches out of 10. The others are : Akhbar Soltani, Nick De Ruyck, Leonidas Sotiriadis, Dan Pascu, and Serge Alard.
Dan Pascu was close to winning the event convincingly with 8/10, but in his final match he saw the decisive dmp-game slip through his fingers against a hard-battling Leonidas. Bad luck for Dan, as the computer programme awarded the victory to Marc based on the Buchholz criteria.
Marc (middle) with Nick (l) and neutral observer Alain Chif.
The event was a success. Tournament organiser Guy Van Middelem kept a tight rein on proceedings, making sure matches started on time and the playing schedule was respected. The catering was excellent, with croissants in the morning and sandwiches and three kinds of homemade soups for lunch.
BMS-participants were slightly dismayed, however, to find out that only 8 minutes were allotted for a 5-point match, instead of the standard 10 (i.e. 2 minutes per point). This whimsical approach stems from the wish to schedule “more matches”, but comes at the cost of valuable thinking time. 5-pointers are notoriously difficult, since take-points and gammon values are skewed from game 1. It is not like in a longer match, where the opening games have normal take-points (25%) and gammon values (0,5). Have a look at this position, for instance : Marc Van Damme is faced with a difficult cube decision in his match against me :
White redoubles. Can Black take or should he pass?
Let us have a look at the same position “for money” (or : in Unlimited Games):
White redoubles. Can Black take or should he pass?
With three blots floating and faced with a stronger board, Black faces a huge amount of gammons (45%). This results in a clear pass, not just “for Money”, but also at a 0-0 score in a 11-point match. Accepting this cube would be a clear blunder :
However, in a 5-point match, things become very complicated. After the cube is turned, it will have a value of 4 and with the gammon price being only 0,25, the 45% gammons only have a value of 11%, instead of 22% (for Money). Moreover, should Black ever have the chance to recube to 8, the gammon price would become 0 ( = zero) and all White’s gammons would evaporate. Here is the correct cube action ats ( = at the score). Suddenly, not accepting the cube would be a clear blunder :
(!!) Needless to say that this is a fantastic, world-class take by Marc. I think most players, even very good ones, would drop with a sigh of relief, myself included.
This shows that 5-point matches are very difficult from Game 1, especially the cube actions. Marc’s Cube PR (10,24) should illustrate that abundantly. I therefore urge tournament organisers to allow the EUBGF-approved and BMS-conform 2 minutes per point even for shorter match lengths.
To round off : BMS(BE) welcomes 5 new players on the BMS GT. Dan Pascu, KristofferDeWeert, LeonidasSotiriadis, AntoineDemey and SergeAlard decided to take advantage of the newly introduced CoP to play their match against Marc under ‘mutual PR agreement’ and thereby gained access to the BMS GT. Antoine Demey managed to do so with a Master (Class 1) result! Thanks for participating, guys.
In Reykjavik last week, the Belgium Backgammon Team played 24 matches to 13 points against 6 other countries : Greece, Norway, France, Sweden, Gibraltar and Turkey. We only won 11 of those. That’s bad, right?
Not quite. Let’s hear what Johan Huyck has to say about this. Johan is a professional math teacher and responsible for data processing in the BMS Committee.
Johan (middle), setting up his recording equipment against Norway.
Johan : We can look back on the tournament with pride. Sadly, Lady Luck was not on our side.
M : Isn’t that an easy way out? Saying the dice were against us?
Johan : No. Let’s look at it objectively : over the 24 matches we played a PR of 5,52, which is very close to the PR of 5,40 that we could expect based on the current BMS rating. Belgium was the best team in every encounter. Only France came close. This means that based on performance, we could, or should, have won every encounter. None of the encounters yielded a fair result.
M : With fair you mean that the team who played best also won?
Johan : Right. Of the 24 matches we played, 20 times the Belgian player played better than his opponent. Still we only won 11 matches. Our performance was also very consistent. Our worst PR in 24 matches was PR 7,89, whereas in 10 ( = ten) matches our opponents played an 8+ PR.
M : I agree. I saw it happening on the boards with my own eyes. You cannot lose a match against a player who plays worse without having some brutal swings against you.
Johan : It is of course not unusual to lose matches against weaker players, but the frequency in Iceland bordered on the bizarre. Have a look at 5 of our losses :
Walter Meuwis (PR 6,87) loses to George Lazaris (PR 11,33)
Marc Van Damme (PR 5,72) loses to Nikos Dikaros (PR 7,98)
Johan Huyck (PR 6,16) loses to Johan Bynell (PR 9,01)
Johan Segers (PR 6,73) loses to Steve Blake (PR 15,32) (!)
Marc Van Damme (PR 3,64) loses to Kasuto Mahir (PR 7,10)
Losing these 5 matches is “very unlucky”, I would say.
M : Sure. Do you think we were among the best teams?
Johan : I think there is a fair chance that only Denmark and Germany performed better as a team than we did. Maybe France also deserved a place in the Final Four. But of Norway I am not so sure.
M : Hm… The UK maybe? And I think you are a bit harsh on Norway. A batch of 52 EP ( = four 13-point matches) is not really big enough to base a final evaluation on, right? And let us not forget that one of their very best players, Elias Kritikos, did not play against us.
Johan : OK, you have a point there. But let’s look at it in another way : if we were to award points based on performance and we agree that 2-2 would be a fair result if PR’s are within 1, we would be expected to have scored 19 victories out of 24. If a draw would be fair with PR’s within 2, we would have scored 18/24 and if we agree on a draw with PR’s within 3, we would still be expected to reach 16,5/24. In short, there is no doubt in my mind that 13 losses and 11 wins is a very unfortunate outcome, especially knowing that 14/24 would always have ensured a ticket for the Final Four.
M : I see. Anything else you want to highlight?
Johan : Well, Marc’s performance was really outstanding of course. His overall PR of 4,28 (!) surely ranks among the 10 best performances of the whole championship.
Marc (middle) before the Belgium v Turkey encounter.
And you did well too, of course, with a PR of 3,25 (3 x 13) on Day 2. Walter also played within his skill window, which is something of a feat if you know that his luggage had stayed behind in Brussels Airport. It is not easy to play well if your mind is burdened by worry. Me and Johan (Segers) feel we could have done better. We played slightly worse than our acknowledged skill level. All in all, I think we did very well as a team and have lots of positive things to take with us to the next EUBTC.
M : Any idea when and where that will be?
Johan : It was decided that Gibraltar will host the 2018 European Backgammon Team Championships in the first weeks of July 2018. We can be sure that the organisation will be excellent, as the organisers are quite experienced. Let’s hope we can send a strong team and play as well as we did in Reykjavik, maybe even a bit better.
M : How can we ensure this?
Johan : By keeping up the study and dedicated practice. And the good spirits. I feel that we stand a fair chance of reaching the Final Four, if we can only be spared some extreme bad luck.
M : I agree, although next year more strong teams may show up because the venue is more attractive. I’m thinking countries like Croatia, Italy, Russia, …
Johan : That’s true. We’ll see…
Ok, let’s conclude with a quote about ‘success’. Sadly, most have something to do with “overcoming failure” and I think it is clear that we did not fail in Iceland. Maybe Pele sums it up best : “Success is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all love of what you are doing or learning to do”.
Some unfortunate swings of fortune left Belgium needing a 4-0 victory against Turkey to qualify for the Final Four. Chances of this happening are small, but stranger things have happened in backgammon…
Sadly, despite being the better player on every board, we only managed a draw : 2-2.
Here are the team PR’s :
PR Belgium v Turkey (4 x 13)
Every player excelled in this team effort and this resulted in a high-class performance, our best of the tournament. Sadly, outplaying your opponent is never a guarantee for victory in this fickle game, as was amply demonstrated in the 6 encounters we played in Iceland.
PR Turkey v Belgium (4 x 13)
Michel Lamote (PR 3,60) wins against Arda Findikoglu (PR 7,52)
Marc Van Damme (PR 3,64) loses to Mahir Kasuto (PR 7,10)
Johan Huyck (PR 6,19) loses to Cumhur Bekture (PR 7,15)
Walter Meuwis (PR 4,82) wins against Gokhan Kazandag (PR 12,91)
What conclusions can be drawn from this event? Come back to this website tomorrow and find an interview with Johan Huyck, who will shed his light on the data.
We needed a 4-0 victory against this dwarfish backgammon nation, but failed in our mission. Sometimes even an 8+ PR difference is not enough to guarantee victory, as Johan S. experienced in a gruelling match against his sympathetic, but endearingly incompetent opponent.
Here are the PR’s of both teams :
PR Belgium v Gibraltar (4 x 13)PR Gibraltar v Belgium (4 x 13)
Michel Lamote (PR 3,36) wins against Gilbert Licudi (PR 13,52)
Marc Van Damme (PR 4,63) wins against David Frier (PR 10,92)
Johan Segers (PR 6,73) loses to Steven Blake (15,32)
Walter Meuwis (PR 6,83) wins against Michael Pitaluga (PR 14,40)
We now need a 4-0 victory against Turkey in the last round. Unlikely, but not impossible…
After losing to France on Thursday night, we badly needed to score some points against Sweden. It was imperative not to squander equity in this encounter and I can say that we all appeared at the boards very focused. This resulted in a very fine team performance :
PR Belgium v Sweden (4 x 13)PR Sweden v Belgium (4 x 13)
This is the best team performance by Belgium so far. Marc and I were the better of two of Sweden’s top players and both Johans kept a cool head in high-pressure conditions :
Michel Lamote (PR 2,71) loses against Kare Aronsson (PR 3,88)
Marc Van Damme (PR 3,67) wins against Thomas Tenland (PR 5,18)
Johan Huyck (PR 6,16) loses against Johan Bynell (PR 9,01)
Johan Segers (PR 6,49) loses against Aron Tendler (PR 7,87)
This undeserved defeat leaves Belgium with 6/16. We can still qualify for the Final Four, but will have to score heavily in R5. Our opponents are Gibraltar, the weakest participant in this tournament. Surely a 4-0 victory is possible?
With two draws under our belt, Belgium badly needed a win against France. Unfortunately, things turned out sour for us as we were beaten 1-3. Both teams came up with similar PR’s :
PR France v Belgium (4 x 13)PR Belgium v France (4 x 13)
Marc Van Damme made his maiden appearance on Board 1 and did not disappoint. He won his match and scored an excellent PR :
Marc Van Damme (PR 3,66) wins against Vincent Nardi (PR 5,80)
Johan Huyck (PR 5,61) loses against Olivier Croisille (PR 5,26)
Johan Segers (PR 7,69) loses against Eric Maillebiau (PR 8,45)
Walter Meuwis (PR 5,77) loses against Aurélien Bionnet (PR 3,27)
After this defeat, Belgium was left with 5/12. We needed to score heavily on Day 2 if we wanted to qualify for the Final Four. Will we be able to lift our game a notch or two?
After drawing 2-2 against Greece in Round 1, we faced Norway in Round 2. Norway is a strong backgammon country, but amateurish selection procedures prevent some of the very best players to be part of the team. Hence their slightly disappointing performance against us :
PR Norway v Belgium (4 x 13)
The Belgium Team did slightly better :
PR Belgium v Norway (4 x 13)
I seldom perform well during siesta hours, and my PR certainly hurt the team performance. Walter, however, got rolling and also Johan Huyck outplayed his opponent :
All PR’s :
Michel Lamote (PR 6,40) loses to Dagfinn Snarheim (PR 4,78)
Johan Huyck (PR 4,71) wins against Jostein Flood (PR 9,19)
Johan Segers (PR 7,40) loses to Rune Hallvorsen (PR 8,15)
Walter Meuwis (PR 2,99) wins against Beate Siglem (PR 5,20)
Can we keep this up in R3 (or even do better?). Check this website and you’ll soon know.
The European Backgammon Team Championship was won by Norway after a thrilling finish. In the semi finals, Norway drew against Denmark (2-2), but won a team consultation match to 7 points. They repeated that feat against Germany in the final by first winning two encounters and losing two and then winning a team consultation tie-breaking match to 7. Congratulations to our Norwegian friends on behalf of BGFed.be!
You can see pictures of the jubilant winners here :
The Belgium Team recorded all its matches. In the upcoming days, BMS Belgium will publish the Performance Ratings of all our matches. Here is how we did in the opening round against Greece :
This is not good. Everybody played at least one PR-point above their skill level, with myself ending up with an uncharacteristic 7+. Remarkably, the Greek GM Konstantinos Mitrellis scored an even more shocking PR, at least 3 PR points above his acknowledged skill level. These PR’s are surely an indication of the complexity of the match.
Check this website for our results in R 2 versus Norway.
On Thursday 5 October, the 4th edition of the European Backgammon TeamChampionship (EUBTC) gets underway in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. After valiant campaigns in Hungary (2015) and Denmark (2016) Belgium is once again represented by a worthy team.
The championship consists of 6 rounds of play. In each round, four 13-point matches are played between teams of two different countries. Each country can be represented by one team only. After 6 rounds (played on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 October) the four highest ranked countries qualify for the Final Four. These 4 teams play semi-finals and the final on Sunday 8 October. You can find more info on the tournament format here.
In 2015 and 2016 we were just one match win away from qualification for the Final Four. There was disappointment, but also satisfaction. With less than 100 active players, Belgium is a small backgammon nation compared to pioneering countries like Denmark (current European Champion), Germany, the UK, etc. Still, BGFed.be is one of the best structured backgammon federations in the world and many countries envy our professionally organised initiatives, like the 4 Cubes ( = annual club competition), the BIC ( = the Belgian Individual Championship), the BGFed.be result-based ranking, and the BMS ( = Belgium Master Series = PR-based ranking).
The EUBTC is a great opportunity for Belgium to manifest itself on the international backgammon scene. Our top players are not of Grandmaster level, which makes us underdogs against countries who can field one or more GM’s (Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia, Czech Republic, …). However, all players on the team are seasoned backgammon Masters, with plenty of international experience. They are all ranked in the top-6 of the BMS Grading Table (which ranks players according to acknowledged skill level). So, it is safe to say that, with the exception of Geert Van der Stricht (who could not make himself available because of job obligations), the team consists of ‘Belgium’s Best’. They are : Michel Lamote (1), Marc Van Damme (2), Johan Huyck (4), Walter Meuwis (5) and Johan Segers (6).
As Team Captain, I would like to thank all these players for making themselves available and investing time and money in this joint effort. Let us do our best to play (and roll) well.
With an average PR of 4,26 over six 13-point matches, Christian Sörensen took first prize at the recent BMS tournament held in Bruges. He beat Grandmaster and World’s number three Michihito Kageyama by 0,1 PR point : 4,36.
Congratulations, Christian!
Christian (l) in deep thought against Michy (r)
Best performance by a Belgian player came from Marc Van Damme, who posted a strong 4,64 PR. This result brings Marc back to the number one spot on the BMS GT.
Belgium’s number 1 Marc (l) playing Kazuko (r)
Five more players managed to stay below the 6 PR threshold : Geert Van der Stricht (5,39), Johan Huyck (5,53), Michel Lamote (5,63), Tatsuya Tanaka (5,67) and Walter Meuwis (5,96). Special mention should go to Johan Huyck, who out-cubed everyone with a powerful cube PR of 5,40 (!). In that domain he beat Michihito Kageyama by 0,03 mps (5,43). Well cubed, Johan!
With an astonishing streak of 6 consecutive wins Paulus Van Rooijen (Nl) won the 2nd BMS Belgium tournament. With 5 wins out of 6, Michihito ‘Michy’ Kageyama (Japan) took second place.
Paulus (l) pondering a decision. In the background we recognise Tatsuya Tanaka.World’s number 3 : Michy.
12 players played six 13-point matches over two days in the ‘Hollandse Vismijn’ in Brugge. All matches were recorded and the players’ PR’s will be tabulated in the BMS Grading Table. The results will also count for the BMAB World Ranking.
The tournament was organised by BMS Belgium’s chairman Geert Van der Stricht (with a little help from his friends). Below are some pictures, which were taken by professional photographer Frank Viergever :
(from left to right) : Kazuko Numazawa, Marc Steyvers and Michy.Tense moments from the Michy – Marc Van Damme encounter.Marc Steyvers (l) playing Geert (r)Walter MeuwisKazuko Numazawa, wondering what Marc Van Damme is up to…Christian Sörensen (l) and Johan Huyck (r)Geert Van der Stricht (l) and Kazuko Numazawa (r)Hisako Nishizawa
These are the players who won at least 4 out of 6 matches :
Paulus Van Rooijen 6/6
Michy 5/6
Walter Meuwis 4/6
Marc Van Damme 4/6
BMS Belgium would like to thank all players for their sportsmanship and gentlemanlike conduct.
The next BMS event will be the 2nd Xmas Trophy, which will be held during the Christmas holidays.
BMS Belgium is proud to announce that Michihito Kageyama, better known as Michy, has agreed to come and play at the upcoming 2nd BMS Belgium tournament, which will be held at the ‘Hollandse Vismijn’ in Bruges on Saturday and Sunday 22-23 July. His entourage consists of three more Japanese players (among them Tatsuya Tanaka), who will also be taking part.
Michy (Grandmaster Class 1) playing at the Merit Open in Cyprus.
For those who do not know Michy : he is currently considered one of the absolute best players in the world. On the BMAB Ranking list (which is PR based) Michy is currently ranked nr. 3 with an astonishing aggregate PR of 3,18. Only Victor Ashkenazi (1 – USA) and Mochi (2 – Japan) precede him.
Never before has a backgammon player of such calibre set foot on Belgian soil. Michy is not only an outstanding player, he is also much respected for his strikingly serene table presence. Michy’s zen approach to the game has, together with his warm and outgoing personality, made him one of the most esteemed and admired players in the world.
BGFed.be members are welcome to come and watch this Backgammon Giant (currently nr. 2 on the Giant-32 list) play in Bruges on 22-23 July. Play starts at 10am.
Almost all of Belgium’s top-10 players were present at the 1st Belgian Championship Double Consulting. Six teams played five 7-point matches in a round robin. At the end of the day, Paul Van Dijke (Brugge BC) and Paulus Van Rooijen (Brugge BC) came out on top with 4/5 :
Belgian champions Paul (l) and Paulus (r) with the trophies (donated by BGFed.be).
Three teams shared 2nd place with three victories and two losses : Walter Meuwis & Ronny Conaert (Hasselt BC), Luc Palmans & Johan Segers (Leuven BC) and SonjaCusters (Leuven BC) & Michel Lamote (Brugge BC). Johan Huyck & Geert Van derStricht (Gent BC) (2/5) and Marc Van Damme & Robin Bilderbeek (Gent BC) (0/5) were the ones not favoured by Lady Fortune.
Ronny (l) &Walter (r)Michel & SonjaJohan S. & Luc (l) versus Geert & Johan H. (r)Marc (l) & Robin (r)
The tournament was conceived and organised by Johan Huyck, who did a splendid job setting it all up in a matter of weeks. It took place at the Sandeman Club in Gent, which, for the occasion, was reserved for players and supporters only. Tineke, who tends the bar at the Sandeman, made sure all players received immaculate service.
Only hours after the tournament ended, one of the players (who prefers to remain anonymous) sent out this thank you mail : “Hartelijk dank en proficiat aan Johan Huyck voor een puike organisatie van een geslaagd tornooi. Alles zat goed : formaat, timing, locatie, catering. Echt top, bravo!”
I am sure the other 11 players wholeheartedly agree :
The 6 teams : (from left to right) Geert & Johan, Paulus & Paul, Robin & Marc, Johan & Luc, Ronny & Walter, Sonja & Michel.
Looking forward to the 2nd Belgian Championship Double Consulting 2018!
The 3rd Summer Cup in Rimini attracted about 45 players, who enjoyed an amazing package deal at the fancy Ambassador Hotel (located on the beach promenade): for 80€/day, we got a comfortable room with balcony, airco and electric shutters (which darken the room completely). Also included is breakfast and … a 4-course dinner, including red and white wine. As far as I can remember, this is the best deal I ever got in 15 years on the international backgammon circuit.
I was eliminated from the main event by German Championship runner-up TilmanSöhnchen, notwithstanding an acceptable performance (3,59 PR). Johan Huyck, on the other hand, managed one of the great comebacks of the tournament by winning his 1st round match from a 1-10 (11) deficit. Johan even got to the Final Eight, but eventually his luck ran out. He saw a 9-4 (11) lead evaporate against the later winner.
Johan and I did manage to win the Double Consulting event, however, which provides some satisfying consolation. We beat two Italian teams, a German team (Tilman Söhnchen, who played with his alter ego), and a French team in the final.
Johan (r) and me (l) celebrating our win at the hotel bar with our trophies and a Hemingway cocktail (foto : Tilman Söhnchen)
This first taste of the Italian tour has yielded only positive impressions. I would like to thank Alfonso Sara and Cesare Nanti for a well-run and beautifully staged tournament.
On Sunday 2 July, you can come and see how Double Consulting works when 6 teams will compete for the title of Belgian Champion Double Consulting at the Sandeman Club in Gent. Start of play : 10:00 am.
