Format
VV
Van Volsem, Merlijn
FM🇧🇪FIDE 258806· Male· Belgium· Born in 2004
Follow Merlijn Van VolsemTrack his monthly FIDE ratings, games, tournaments and more.
Merlijn Van Volsem, a 22-year-old Belgian FIDE Master, is rated 2332 — just 24 short of his peak of 2356 (Jan 2026, age 22) and ranked 28th among Belgian players, and in the top 1% worldwide. He is on a steady climb with +73 Elo over the past 12 months. 46 rated games in the past year (≈23/year long-term). Recent standard appearances include Belgian Interclubs Round 2025-2026 Ronde 11, Belgian Interclubs Round 2025-2026 Ronde 10, and Belgian Interclubs Round 2025-2026 Ronde 9. He reached Belgian #19 in Oct 2025.
Awarded FM in 2025 (age 21). At junior level, he reached #2, #4, #6 and #58 nationally in U20, U18, U16 and U14.
Current rating
2332
Standard
Rpd2214·Blz2238
All-time high
2356
−24 pts below
Jan 2026 · age 22
Jan 2026 · age 22
Activity
29
games / yr avg. · ≈2/mo
46 past 12 mo · ≈4/mo
classical only
Moderately active
classical only
Moderately active
Signature stat
#28
#28 · Belgian players · of 2,977
Career timeline
13 entries2026
All-time peak 2356
at age 22 · −24 from today
Jan 2026
2025
Peak Belgian rank: #19
at age 21 · rated 2349
Oct 2025
FM title awardedFM
at age 21
Aug 2025
Crossed 2300
at age 21
Aug 2025
2024
2nd Belgian U20 player
at age 20 · rated 2264
Oct 2024
100 career games
at age 20
Sep 2024
Standard rating history
Peak
FIDE title
Threshold
First rated
COVID-19
Activity & highlights
Evolution
+54
2278 → 2332
Tournaments
15
39 games
Score
23/ 3959.0%
17W12D10L
Top 3 wins
1.[W]vsGellert KaracsonyiIM2,407·5e Festival International de La Plagne Soleil - Tournoi Maitre·R5·+12.7
2.[W]vsDhulipalla Bala Chandra PrasadIM2,403·5e Festival International de La Plagne Soleil - Tournoi Maitre·R4·+12.6
Top 3 losses
Last 12 months — tournaments
15 events| Event | Date | Score | Rank | Perf | Δ Elo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Apr 2026 | 1/1 | #14 | 3098 | +9.4 |
Team | Mar 2026 | 0.5/1 | #796 | 2248 | -2.4 |
Team | Mar 2026 | 0/1 | #1345 | 1659 | -6.6 |
Swiss | Mar 2026 | 0.5/1 | #33 | 2177 | -4.2 |
Team | Mar 2026 | 1/1 | #529 | 2875 | +3.6 |
Team | Feb 2026 | 0/1 | #1528 | 1465 | -12.2 |
Team | Jan 2026 | 0/1 | #1059 | 1519 | -11.0 |
Team | Dec 2025 | 0.5/1 | #648 | 2332 | -0.6 |
Team | Nov 2025 | 1/1 | #273 | 2980 | +5.4 |
Team | Nov 2025 | 0.5/1 | #606 | 2325 | -0.8 |
Rankings
/
Belgium
#28
out of 3,338 players
Europe
#2,047
in continent
World
#3,141
out of 400,000+
National ranking
Europe & World
Europe
World
Belgium
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Europe
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World
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