GM Daniel Dardha emerged victorious in the 2024 Belgian Championship, capturing his fourth national title.
The 2024 Belgian Championship, which included an invitational 10-player round-robin (expert tournament) and an open tournament, took place in the large refectory of the Sint-Gummarus College in Liege from July 06-13.
The 18-year-old Dardha confirmed his status as a pre-tournament favorite to win the expert event, but it was a very close race with IM Stefan Beukema that came down to the wire.
Going into the final round, Dardha and Beukema shared the lead with 6.5/8 each. Stefan made a quick draw with IM Steven Geirnaert, while Daniel jumped on this opportunity and defeated IM Alexander Alienkin with black pieces to clinch the title. The champion and the runner-up became the only unbeaten players in the event.
Mher Hovhannisyan and Sim Maerevoet scored 5.5/9 and tied for third place, with the former completing the podium thanks to better tiebreak.
Final standings:
|
1 |
GM |
Dardha, Daniel |
2629 |
7½ |
|
2 |
IM |
Beukema, Stefan |
2411 |
7 |
|
3 |
GM |
Hovhannisyan, Mher |
2405 |
5½ |
|
4 |
IM |
Maerevoet, Sim |
2436 |
5½ |
|
5 |
IM |
Alienkin, Aleksander |
2331 |
5 |
|
6 |
IM |
Geirnaert, Steven |
2438 |
4 |
|
7 |
GM |
Dgebuadze, Alexandre |
2442 |
4 |
|
8 |
FM |
De Waele, Warre |
2365 |
3 |
|
9 |
Ruzhansky, Elias |
2242 |
2 |
|
|
10 |
FM |
Dreelinck, Jacob |
2310 |
1½ |
Photos: official website
Official website: bk.schaakliga-antwerpen.be/en/main-event/
