Belgian championship, Ghent
22-12-1940 > 28-12-1940
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Tot | ||||
| 1 | NM | Van Seters, Frits | NED | – | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6½ |
| 2 | NM | Devos, Paul | BEL | 0 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Baert, Arthur | BEL | ½ | 0 | – | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Henry, Edmond | BEL | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3½ | |
| 5 | Tondriau, Julien | BEL | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | – | 0 | 1 | ½ | 2½ | |
| 6 | Van Hoorde, Edouard | BEL | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | – | ½ | ½ | 2½ | |
| 7 | Van Sevenandt, Étienne | BEL | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | – | ½ | 1½ | |
| 8 | Verschueren, Edouard | BEL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | – | 1½ |
Minor tournament: 1. Tournoy 5/6 2. De Vleeschouder 4½ 3. Davidiuk 4 4. de St. Moulin 3½ 5-6. Cohen & Van Vliet 2 7. Beernaerts 0
In 1939, the Belgian championship did not take place, as World war II had just started, but in 1940 two clubs in Ghent managed to organise an, admittedly rather weak, edition. From [2] and [3], I gather that the first three round were played in the room of the Koninklijke Billard Akademie at the Kouter, while the remaining rounds took place in the Hotel de l’Yser, Vlaanderentraat 65: the rooms of the Royal Ghent Chess Club. The games were played from 14:00 to 19:00.
Van Seters and Devos dominated the tournament. The decision came in the last round when Van Seters beat his rival on demand. As Van Seters was Dutch, he won the title of champion of the federation, but the title of Belgian champion went to Devos. Strangely, there was yet another title on the line: that of “king” which, I believe, was reserved for the first player who had had the Belgian nationality for at least ten years. Devos won that one, too. According to [1], Van de Wouwer, the President of the Belgian Chess Federation, provided four brilliancy prizes. They were awarded to: De Vleeschouder — Tournoy, Van Seters — Tondriau, Baert — Henry, and Cohen — De Vleeschouder.
The crosstable above was pieced together from partial results given in [2], and final standings and a few scattered results and games mentioned in [1]. The few games I have mostly come from [1]. One additional game comes from [2].
Wanted
- Almost all games.
- The crosstable for the minor section.
Sources
- Belgische Schaakbond, Driemaandelijksch Tijdschrift 1941/01
- Le Soir 17, 27, 30/12/1940 & 04, 14/01/1941
- De Gentenaar 28/12/1940
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