Royal Échiquier Mosan

♟️ About Royal Échiquier Mosan

Royal Échiquier Mosan is a historic Belgian chess club based in Tihange, near Huy, Province of Liège. Its roots date to late 1972, when Jean Kinet and Laurent Fagot helped establish the original Racing Club Amay Échecs. Over the following decades, the organization developed through several names and playing venues before becoming the modern Échiquier Mosan. Today, the club brings together around 70 players of different ages and playing strengths. Members meet regularly at the Centre d’Autoformation et de Formation continuée (CAF) in Tihange. Moreover, the club provides classical chess, internal competitions, national and francophone interclubs, open tournaments, junior activities, training, and social club evenings. Claude Bikady currently serves as President. He returned to the position in 2024 after previously playing a major role in the club’s development for many years. The current management team also includes Jean-Marie Gheury as Vice-President, Maxime Rumler as Secretary, François Englebert as Treasurer, Charlotte Lebeau in charge of youth activities, and Ronan Dumont as Tournament Director and Webmaster.

🏆 Tournoi des Trois Vallées

One of the club’s principal current events is the Tournoi des Trois Vallées, a FIDE-rated classical competition held at the club’s Tihange venue. The tournament uses a multi-day format that allows players to compete in classical games while remaining compatible with normal working-week schedules. Moreover, the organizer provides overall prizes as well as awards for different rating categories. The 5th Tournoi des 3 Vallées 2026 takes place from November 6–11, 2026. The event features seven rounds and offers a substantial prize fund. Royal Échiquier Mosan handles registration, venue organization, player communication, tournament logistics, and supporting services. Therefore, the event reflects the club’s long experience in hosting federation-rated chess competitions.

♜ National and Francophone Team Chess

Royal Échiquier Mosan maintains an extensive team program within Belgian chess. During the 2025–26 national interclub season, the club fields teams across several divisions. Its first team competes in Division 3, while additional teams allow players of different strengths to represent the organization. The club also participates in the Intercercles Francophones of the Fédération Échiquéenne Francophone Belge. Consequently, members gain opportunities to play both national and French-speaking regional team chess. This structure is particularly valuable for developing players. Newer competitors can begin in lower divisions, while stronger members can progress toward the club’s leading teams.

🌍 Belgian Elite Chess and European Club Cups

Royal Échiquier Mosan has previously competed at the highest level of Belgian team chess. After several years of progress through the national divisions, the club earned promotion to Belgium’s First Division in 2009. In its first season at the highest level, the team finished an impressive fourth. Further success followed. During the 2012–13 season, Échiquier Mosan remained in contention for the Belgian championship until the final round and ultimately finished runner-up on tiebreak. These results also qualified the club for European competition. Royal Échiquier Mosan represented Belgium at the European Club Cup in:

• 2010 – Plovdiv, Bulgaria
• 2012 – Eilat, Israel
• 2013 – Rhodes, Greece
• 2015 – Skopje, North Macedonia
• 2018 – Halkidiki, Greece
• 2019 – Ulcinj, Montenegro

The 2013 European Club Cup produced one of the club’s strongest international performances. Échiquier Mosan finished 11th overall and as the leading Belgian club.

🎓 Youth Chess and Training

Youth development remains an important part of Royal Échiquier Mosan. The club currently has around 20 regularly affiliated young players. Juniors participate in Friday club competitions, Sunday interclubs, the Belgian Youth Championship, Jeunesse Échiquéenne Francophone events, and other external tournaments. Members also provide structured instruction and guidance. Therefore, children can begin with basic chess training before gradually progressing toward rated competition. The club has a long history of youth development. In earlier decades, it organized training sessions for leading francophone juniors and worked with Belgian Grandmaster Luc Winants on specialist chess instruction. Royal Échiquier Mosan continues to host JEF – Jeunesse Échiquéenne Francophone events. These tournaments bring young players from across French-speaking Belgium to Tihange for rapid competition and age-category prizes.

🥇 Tournament and Event Tradition

Tournament organization has formed part of the club’s identity almost from its beginning. Royal Échiquier Mosan has hosted several editions of the Francophone Individual Championship, the Liège League Individual Championship, youth championships, FIDE tournaments, rapid competitions, and other major chess events. For the club’s 30th anniversary in 2002, it organized five significant competitions during one year. These included a closed FIDE tournament, the Francophone Youth Championship, the Francophone Individual Championship, an Active Chess tournament, and the Liège League Championship. The 40th anniversary in 2012 produced another memorable event: the international 24 Hours of Blitz in Amay. More than 100 players participated, including several foreign grandmasters representing ten nationalities. Today, the tournament program includes the Tournoi des Trois Vallées, internal events, the Open Printemps, JEF competitions, and team events.

📜 History and Development

The club began in 1972 as Racing Club Amay Échecs. Laurent Fagot became its first President, while approximately 15 players initially met each Friday evening at a café in Amay. By 1978, the organization had entered Belgian national interclubs and staged its first open tournament. Growth continued through the 1980s. In 1988, the club moved to the Tihange nuclear power station and became CN Tihange Échecs. By 1990, it had around 60 members and five national interclub teams. The organization adopted an ASBL legal structure in 1993 and subsequently returned to Amay. During the following two decades, the club expanded its tournament activity and eventually climbed to Belgium’s highest national division. In 2015, Échiquier Mosan moved to its current CAF venue in Tihange. A difficult period followed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and regular participation fell sharply. However, the club experienced a strong revival from 2022 onward. Membership reached 83 players in 2023, structured training returned, new tournaments were launched, and weekly activities expanded. In 2024, Claude Bikady returned as President. Today, Royal Échiquier Mosan once again maintains a large active membership, several interclub teams, structured junior development, and a growing tournament calendar.