Rimpelschaak 2026
Open SwissStandard
17 players participated in this 7-round tournament, held from 21 Apr 2026 to 12 May 2026 in Gent, Belgium. 2 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1854, and top seed was Geert Verrijken (🇧🇪 BEL, 1966).
Andre Galle (🇧🇪 BEL, 1887) won with 5.5/7, ahead of Valere DeBuck (5.0) and Raf Barzeele (4.5). Galle won solo starting round 4.
The biggest upset came in round 1: Guy Ponnet (1756) beat Geert Verrijken (1966), a +210-point gap.
Location
🇧🇪Gent, Belgium
Dates
21 Apr 2026 → 12 May 2026
Time control
Standard: 90 minutes with 30 second increment from move 1
System
Swiss · 7 rounds
Federations · 2 represented
🇧🇪Belgium×16
🇳🇱Netherlands×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 7 roundsAndre Galle led from R4; +0.5-point edge over the runner-up.
Co-leaders
8
2
3
1
1
1
1
R4–R7 · LEAD HELD
Andre Galle held the sole lead from R4 through R7 without losing it.
R3 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND
Andre Galle drew with Valere DeBuck (Black).
R1–R7 · UNBEATEN
Andre Galle went unbeaten across 7 games (R1–R7).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Andre Galle | * | ½ | ½ | ½ |
| 2Valere DeBuck | ½ | * | 0 | — |
| 3Raf Barzeele | ½ | 1 | * | — |
| 4Freddy Vanhee | ½ | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galle, Andre | 1887 | BEL | +14B | +6N | =2N | +4B | +10B | =7N | =3B | 5.5 | 24.5 | 26.0 | 19.25 | 2022 | +22.6 |
| 2 | DeBuck, Valere | 1939 | BEL | +17B | +15N | =1B | =10N | +9B | −3N | +5B | 5.0 | 21.5 | 22.0 | 13.25 | 1968 | +7.6 |
| 3 | Barzeele, Raf | 1847 | BEL | +5B | =4N | =10B | +11N | F | +2B | =1N | 4.5 | 24.5 | 24.5 | 18.25 | 1992 | +22.6 |
| 4 | Ponnet, Guy | 1756 | BEL | +13B | =3B | +8N | −1N | =6B | −5N | +9B | 4.0 | 25.5 | 28.0 | 14.25 | 1880 | +24.4 |
| 5 | Frouws, Willem | 1732 | NED | −3N | +12B | =7N | =8B | +14N | +4B | −2N | 4.0 | 24.0 | 25.5 | 12.00 | 1783 | +8.8 |
| 6 | Pauwels, Rudi | 1756 | BEL | +12N | −1B | =14N | =7B | =4N | =8B | +11N | 4.0 | 23.0 | 24.5 | 12.25 | 1749 | -2.2 |
| 7 | Vanhee, Freddy | 1901 | BEL | F | =9N | =5B | =6N | +11B | =1B | +13N | 4.0 | 22.5 | 22.5 | 14.00 | 1943 | +9.8 |
| 8 | Hebbrecht, Hans | 1744 | BEL | +9B | =10N | −4B | =5N | =12B | =6N | +14B | 4.0 | 21.0 | 22.5 | 11.75 | 1803 | +12.2 |
| 9 | Zemliachenko, Oleh | 1883 | BEL | −8N | =7B | +13N | +14B | −2N | +12B | −4N | 3.5 | 22.0 | 23.5 | 8.50 | 1747 | -19.4 |
| 10 | Stevens, Rene | 1826 | BEL | +11N | =8B | =3N | =2B | −1N | =13B | F | 3.0 | 24.5 | 24.5 | 11.00 | 1843 | +4.6 |
| 11 | Ulenaers, Marc | 1680 | BEL | −10B | +16N | +15B | −3B | −7N | +17N | −6B | 3.0 | 17.0 | 17.5 | 2.00 | 1721 | +6.6 |
| 12 | Yehorov, Mykola | 0 | BEL | −6B | −5N | F | +17B | =8N | −9N | +16B | 2.5 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 3.00 | 1677 | 0.0 |
| 13 | Verrijken, Geert | 1966 | BEL | −4N | F | −9B | +15B | +16N | =10N | −7B | 2.5 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 3.00 | 1722 | -38.8 |
| 14 | Cornelis, Werner | 1565 | BEL | −1N | F | =6B | −9N | −5B | +16B | −8N | 1.5 | 21.5 | 21.5 | 2.50 | 1565 | +0.2 |
| 15 | De Spiegelaere, Chris | 1775 | BEL | +16B | −2B | −11N | −13N | F | F | F | 1.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0.50 | 1595 | -18.6 |
| 16 | Huysman, Robert | 1562 | BEL | −15N | −11B | =17N | F | −13B | −14N | −12N | 0.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0.25 | 1378 | -18.6 |
| 17 | Viaene, Jan | 1750 | BEL | −2N | F | =16B | −12N | F | −11B | F | 0.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0.25 | 1452 | -21.8 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Ponnet, GuyBEL+24.44.0 pts · #5
- 2Barzeele, RafBEL+22.64.5 pts · #3
- 3Galle, AndreBEL+22.65.5 pts · #1
Top rating losers
- 1Verrijken, GeertBEL-38.82.5 pts · #11
- 2Viaene, JanBEL-21.80.5 pts · #17
- 3Zemliachenko, OlehBEL-19.43.5 pts · #12
Biggest upsets
- R1+210 Elo gap
- R1+139 Elo gap
- R7+127 Elo gap