Belgian Go Federation

We are very happy to announce the creation of a new Go club in the west of Belgium: Diksmuide - Seki 8600 Go club !

The club will gather monthly according with contact by email.
We wish the Go club of Diksmuide to be successful in enlightening the spirit of its players !

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As a reminder, the Federation helps the creation of new Go clubs with material and advice.
In the case there is no Go club nearby, if you feel you have the motivation for it, we would be happy to help you to start one. And even if you don't have much time (or are a bit lazy ;)) you may also become a "point of contact". In any case just contact us. ;)

The 8th European Pro Qualification takes place on February 10th to 16th in Vienna, with 12 candidates struggling to become the 10th European Pro!
They will play a round robin (11 rounds).
Games are broadcasted and reviewed live on Twitch.
Lucas is one of them. Althought he is not the favourite (who is the another Lukas...Lukas Podpera), who knows ?!
Follow him here: https://eurogofed.org/proqualification/index_2025.html

This weekend, the qualifier for the 2025 Belgian Championship took place, determining which players would join last year’s top four: reigning champion Xin Shu (6-dan), runner-up and top Belgian Lucas Neirynck (6-dan), Guillaume De Keijser (4-kyu), and Jan Ramon (4-dan).

With six participants, the tournament was condensed into five rounds instead of the usual seven.

The final round became a high-stakes showdown between the last two undefeated players: Lucman Bounoider (3-dan) and Kevin Prist (3-dan). Remarkably, before 2024, the last time these two had faced each other in rated play was back in 2010—when both were still kyus.

Their rivalry reignited this year, with each player securing a victory in previous encounters. Lucman won their match at the 2024 Brussels Tournament, but Kevin evened the score at the first Hoshi Tournament. This final game would settle the latest chapter in their growing rivalry.

The match started cautiously, with both players focusing on building solid shapes. When the fighting began, Lucman was the first to exploit a weakness in Kevin’s position, gaining an early advantage. However, Kevin remained composed, patiently working his way back into the game. In the end, Kevin was slightly ahead on the board, but the result was sealed when Lucman lost on time.

Final Standings:
Rank Player Score
1st Kevin 5
2nd Lucman 4
3rd Yannick 3
4th Michael 2
5th Guy 1
6th Moad 0

With these results, as Xin will not participate in the finals, top 5 people secured their place in the 2025 Belgian Championship alongside last year’s remaining of the top four. Congratulations to all participants on a competitive tournament!

Official tournament to qualify 4 players (4 players are already qualified) for the final stage of the Belgian Championship (final to be played 15 + 16 March).

Regsitration form: see calendar

Venue
Belgium-China Association - Avenue Paul Deschanel 92 - 1030 Brussels

How to get there
The tournament location is 20 minutes walking from the Brussel North train station (Brussel-Noord / Bruxelles-Nord)
2 minutes away from the tram station Côteaux
15 minutes away from the metro station Botanique

1st round on 10 AM on Saturday 08/02.
Swiss system - 7 rounds (possibly round robin up to 8 participants)

For who ?
Belgian Nationality is not required, but only a Belgian player can become Belgian Champion.
Free of charge. But only for members of the Belgian Go Federation.
--> If you are not member yet, please check with your club manager.

No level restriction, every player is welcome but confirmed club level is advisable.

The General Assembly of the Belgian Go Federation will take place on Sunday 19/01/2025 from 2 PM till 5 PM
at the Association Belgique-Chine Avenue Paul Deschanel,92 - 1030 Brussels (Schaerbeek).

This important yearly meeting is the main opportunity to exchange information, share ideas and comments regarding the past year and the future of your club and of the BGF.

In particular, we would appreciate the participation of every club captains, or at least 1 representative per club.

Agenda:
1. Report on 2024 activities (by the president); 2024 financial report (by the treasurer)
2. Projects for 2025 (and later) - among which the developpment on a new BGF website - and setting of the 2025 budget
3. Update of the statutes (so as to remain complient with the new legislation)
4. Election of the board of directors

PS: only BGF members have voting rights.

The Belgian Go team kicked off the new year with an incredible victory in Round 4 of the Pandanet Team Championship, defeating the Netherlands 3-1. Before this round, the Netherlands held second place in the league, making this an uphill battle for Belgium. With key players like Kevin unavailable and a challenging schedule, the odds were against us. According to the European Go Database, Belgium was the underdog in every match.
Yet, our lineup of Lucas, Jan, Lucman, and Guillaume rose to the occasion and delivered an unforgettable performance.

Board 2: Jan Ramon vs. René Aaij

The first game of the round was played on Sunday and featured Jan Ramon (Black) against René Aaij. René, a top Dutch player with multiple podium finishes last year, promised to be a tough opponent.
Jan opened with his characteristic double komoku and a small shimari on the north side of the board. The early game was tight, with a ko fight around move 40. By move 57, Jan had claimed the corner, gaining a small lead. White’s move 58 was strong, cutting and isolating part of Black’s central group. However, White’s mistake at move 62 allowed Black to connect through a ladder, giving Jan a 10-point advantage.
Jan capitalized on his lead by attacking White’s weak groups on the right, solidifying his influence in the center. By move 117, Jan was ahead by 13 points. A dramatic ko fight emerged at move 137 when Jan pulled out a black stone in the corner. Although White lived big in the corner, narrowing the gap to just 2 points, Jan launched a bold invasion on the left. A chaotic fight ensued, with groups on both sides at risk of dying. Jan’s brilliant endgame play at move 195 secured his victory in this nail-biting match.His opponent thought is was an overplay, and then Jan could live in the west.

Result: Belgium’s first underdog victory.

More info: https://pandanet-igs.com/communities/euroteamchamps
Complete results: https://pandanet-igs.com/communities/euroteamchamps/rounds/1114

Board 1: Rob van Zeijst vs. Lucas Neirynck

Lucas Neirynck, fresh off a third-place finish in the European Grand Prix Final 2024, faced Rob van Zeijst on Board 1. Lucas (White) had a challenging game as Rob showcased his exceptional skill and experience.
By move 44, Black’s groups were solid while White had two weak groups. Rob’s north-side invasion put Lucas on the defensive, and by move 100, Rob had established a 15-point lead according to AI analysis. Despite Lucas’s efforts to turn the tide, Rob’s solid play kept him in control. He managed to cut off one of Lucas’s groups in the east, sealing the game in his favor.

Result: Belgium loses on Board 1.

Board 3: Lucman Bounoider vs. Gelmer Bouwman

Lucman Mohammad (White) faced Gelmer van Dijk on Board 3. Lucman attempted to steer the game into familiar territory with his favorite joseki, but Gelmer opted for a simpler variation, isolating Lucman’s stones in the corner and gaining a 10-point lead by move 67.
The game’s turning point came when Gelmer invaded the west at move 91. Lucman launched a sharp counterattack, cutting through Black’s groups. Although Gelmer managed to live in the corner, his outside groups were heavily weakened. A final ko fight ensued, but Gelmer lacked sufficient threats, allowing Lucman to secure a commanding 20-point victory.
Result: Another win for Belgium.

Board 4: Guillaume De Keijser vs. Herman Hiddema

The final game saw Guillaume Jacobs (Black) take on Herman Wortelboer, a 4-dan player. Despite a misclick at move 11 that cost Guillaume 4 points, he managed to stabilize the game. By move 47, Guillaume captured four stones in the center, connecting two weak groups but still trailing by 6 points.
As the game progressed, Guillaume’s group in the east came under severe attack, and he found himself 25 points behind. However, a critical turning point came at move 120 when White overplayed while attacking Guillaume’s stones. Guillaume seized the opportunity, starting a capturing race that led to a decisive ko fight. Although White killed some of Black’s stones, Guillaume managed to kill all of White’s stones in the left half of the board, securing an improbable 10.5-point victory.
Result: A miracle win for Belgium.

Final Score: Netherlands 1 – Belgium 3

On paper, Belgium was the underdog in this round, but the team’s determination and skill turned the tide. With this remarkable 3-1 victory, Belgium starts the new year with momentum and confidence.
Great games were played by all, and we thank everyone who supported the team. For those who want to relive the action, the games can be viewed on the Pandanet website.
Let’s keep up the great work and look forward to the upcoming rounds!

More info: https://pandanet-igs.com/communities/euroteamchamps
Complete results: https://pandanet-igs.com/communities/euroteamchamps/rounds/1114

Dear Go players,

The board of the Belgian Go Federation wishes you a happy new year 2025 !

Also, we would like to inform you on our intentions for 2025 regarding the renew of the website.
We need and want to have a new Belgian Go Federation site with modern design and new features because we think you deserve it. :)

But it's difficult to find volunteers with expertise in Web IT, even more volunteers who are willing to invest a good amount of their time.
For sure, creating a website with a few pages and nice pictures, many can do it. But when you have to manage membership with different access rights, mailing, record tournament results, handle a rating, and ensure migration and maintenance, things get more complicated and expensive in time and budget. And after several attempts the last 10 years, the last try as well did not reach much of our expectations.

Least to say for the future of Go in Belgium the Federation site is very important whereas we are behind in technology running with 20 years old tools.

So sure, if some serious IT developer is still willing to volunteer to achieve this great task of migrating our site to a new shiny one, we would be more than happy.

Otherwise, we will likely have to ask professionals, and pay them for the service...with a scarce budget.

For the moment, we still use the same old gofed.be site, but be aware that our good old gofed.be website is at risk. And as time goes by, the need to change the gofed website will become imperative.
Of course, this point is on the agenda of the forthcoming General Assembly 19th January 25.

Michael Silcher
President of the Belgian Go Federation

Olivier Drouot wins this 2024 edition of Rapid Games Belgian Championship (12 min per player + 10 sec / move, handicap - 2).
Second and Belgian Rapid Champion is Lucman Bounoider.

A high level tournament with many Dan and high SDK players but only 7 participants (and half of the participants are board members...).
Still a lof of suspense for the win and many tense situations for games that have been confortably played from home.

Final result

1 - Olivier Drouot - 6 victories - Winner of the Rapid Belgian Championship !
2 - Lucman Bounoider - 5 victories - Belgian Rapid Go Champion (Olivier has the French nationality)!
3 - Jan Ramon - 3 victories
4 - Renaud Gaban - 3 victories
5 - Guillaume De Keijser - 3 victories
6 - Michael Silcher - 1 victory
7 - Jean-Denis Hennebert - 0 victories

The Belgian team faced a tough opponent in Round 3 of the Pandanet Team Championship, falling 3-1 to Austria. Despite the defeat, Vincent's resilience on Board 4 kept Belgium from being swept, preserving a measure of pride in a hard-fought contest. The lineup for this round featured Lucas, Lucman, Kevin, and Vincent. Here's how the matches unfolded:

Board 1: Lucas Battles Viktor Lin in a Close Contest

Lucas (White) went up against Austria's top player, Viktor Lin, in a highly anticipated matchup. The two had faced each other several times before, with Viktor holding a slight edge in their rivalry.
This game lived up to expectations, delivering a complex and dynamic battle. Both players avoided large-scale territory, opting instead for intricate fighting with small groups spread across the board. By the midgame, Lucas found himself trailing by 9 points after his group on the left was surrounded. However, he there was potential for a comeback. To succeed at reducing his opponents influence in the centre while ensuring the survival of his group.
The game came down to a critical ko fight initiated by Lucas. If successful, he could turn the tables. But Viktor played it safe, ignoring the initial threat and forcing Lucas to settle for capturing a few stones. This wasn’t enough to close the gap, Lucas resigned.

Board 2: Lucman Fights Hard but Falls Short

Lucman (Black) took on Peter Neubauer in their first recorded match. He opened with his favorite joseki in the southeast, but this time, Peter came out ahead, securing an 8-point lead early on.
The game transitioned into a moyo-building phase, with Lucman looking for opportunities to regain ground. He launched an invasion at move 49, and white did an invasion by saving the stones at P8. But even after the trades and ko, Peter's lead remained intact.
Despite Lucman's best efforts to apply pressure across the board, Peter held firm. He secured life for his groups in the center and west, while creating a significant moyo in the northwest. In the end, Peter converted his early lead into a decisive victory, winning by more than 15 points.

Board 3: Kevin Falls to Relentless Pressure

Kevin (White) faced Lisa Mayer in a game that was evenly balanced through the opening stages. By move 49, Kevin had successfully reduced Black's potential in the south.
A sequence in the northwest weakened Kevin’s groups on the left, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Lisa capitalized on this, launching a series of relentless assaults. Kevin managed to secure a good result locally in the east, but Lisa used the momentum to invade the north and split Kevin's groups.
Unable to defend everything, Kevin ultimately lost a key group in the north and resigned. It was a well-executed game by Lisa, who maintained pressure throughout.

Board 4: Vincent Saves Belgium’s Pride

With Belgium down 3-0, Vincent (Black) stepped up to face Valentin Hauer, determined to prevent a sweep. Vincent played a solid opening, prioritizing the safety of his groups and creating a stable foundation.
White’s invasion at move 42, however, triggered chaos. Valentin applied maximum pressure on the east, but Vincent responded with calm and precise defensive moves. When the dust settled, Vincent emerged with a 10-point lead, having cut off White’s stones and established strong shapes.
As the game progressed, White attempted to build a massive central territory. Vincent saw the opportunity to exploit a weakness, launching a deep invasion and sacrificing a single stone to reduce White’s potential significantly. With White unable to close the gap, Vincent secured the win, salvaging a point for Belgium.

Final Score: Austria 3 – Belgium 1

While Austria walked away as the better team this round, Vincent’s victory ensured Belgium avoided a sweep. Congratulations to Austria on a well-deserved win.
For those eager to review the games in detail, the records are available on the Pandanet website.