Belgians abroad: Saint Antonin Noble Val: July 7 – 12, 2025

If there is a chess paradise, it might look very much like Saint Antonin Noble Val. What a great adventure that was for me. I fell from one pleasant surprise into another there. I have never experienced anything like it. None of my previous classic tournaments (over 60 of them) comes close. It is unimaginable that this jewel in the chess circuit is still unknown, but this article will change everything.

However, at first I had to move heaven and earth to convince my favorite fellow traveler (my daughter Evellien). Are we really going to drive 2,000 kilometers for a chess tournament and won’t it be way too hot there? With 2 fans in the trunk and “the luck” that the attractive La Plage Tarentaise (where at the same time in the south of France there were many Belgians) was not suitable to play together because of 2 different playing halls according to strength 6 kilometers away, I got the green light. Saint Antonin Noble Val had been on my wish list since 2018, see https://schaken-brabo.blogspot.com/2018/11/vakantie-deel-5.html, so finally it came about.

Driving 1,000 kilometers in 1 day is feasible. I did it on the way back because I already had to work the next day, but much more pleasant is to make a stopover. On the way there, I chose Orleans, the city of France’s greatest heroine Joan of Arc. It is a very charming town that is definitely worth a visit.

We arrived in Orleans on Saturday and the first round in Saint Antonin Noble Val wasn’t until Monday. So I even had time to visit something on Sunday. Oradour-sur-Glane was recommended to me and I can only agree, at least if you don’t shudder too much at horror stories. It is an open-air museum of the horrors committed by the Nazis in World War ^II. The photo below leaves nothing to the imagination.

Dozens of completely destroyed houses and several burned-out vintage cars bear witness to a massacre where more than 600 men, women but also many children were murdered.

For travelers who want to visit nicer places on the way, Limoges, Rocamadour, and Cahors were also recommended to me. In short, there is still a lot for me to discover as well.

If I have learned anything from playing many tournaments, it is best to pay a little extra for comfort. We really ended up in a 5-star B&B. The room, service, and breakfast were absolutely top-notch. For my daughter, who prefers to speak English rather than French, it was very welcome that the owners were English.

I also always find good and tasty food very important during a tournament, and that was absolutely worth it in Saint Antonin Noble Val. I am a bon vivant, the Dutch Grandmaster Koen Leenhouts said in a podcast of the Lange Rokade, and I am proud of that badge of honor.

You can already eat a delicious steak with vegetables and potatoes for 18 euros at L’Atelier. I also found the non-alcoholic beer quite palatable.

A gastronomic three-course menu for only 33 euros at L’Auberge des Sens. Langoustines, foie gras, Crème brûlée… I wanted to go back every day, but my daughter didn’t agree with that.

Ok nice vacation spot but didn’t you play a chess tournament there and what is different from other tournaments?

• Saint Antonin Noble Val has a chess cafe: Restaurant Guinguette. Every evening there was a great atmosphere and many chess players dropped by. I discovered it a bit too late because I only went there to eat a chocolate cake after the prize-giving ceremony.

• Saint Antonin Noble Val has a chess island with a chessboard available in the water. I had my swimming trunks with me, but my daughter Evelien didn’t, so it was just a photo from a distance. On this blog you can see that chess is actually played there.

• Saint Antonin Noble Val has a spectacular market with many fruits and vegetables that I had never seen before. Keep a Sunday free for this because it’s worth it. However, the most surprising thing I found was that there was even a market stall with chessboards and other games. Who has ever experienced something like that?

• The tournament had very democratic drink prices. I even rediscovered the euro cent there. I asked afterwards why 73 euro cents or 76 euro cents for the delicious wine. To tease the barmaids, I was told. In a previous edition, everyone on the top boards drank wine during the last round because then everything is half price!

• The winner’s name is engraved in a 300-kilogram stone king. There is a YouTube video of how it was made and how the stone was transported. Well, if you win the tournament, the picture is complete. I specifically returned after the prize-giving ceremony to have a photo taken with a white shirt. Pity I hadn’t yet learned Koen’s tip on how to get a wrinkled shirt clean, see round-5-draw-again.

In short, more than enough reasons to call this the most beautiful tournament ever, and I’m not even talking about the multiple daily trips we could make. I suspect the organization chose mainly morning games because of the heat, and that had the very nice bonus that we had several afternoons free. Pity that more chess tournaments don’t apply such a schedule. The surroundings were breathtaking.

I have to wrap up because this article is getting much too long. Maybe I should give a new series of presentations about this most beautiful tournament again because there is still so much more to tell and show. I’m thinking of the exciting rally with another red car between the sunflower fields with my daughter as co-pilot. Or the daily walk through a medieval labyrinth of streets from the B&B to the tournament hall and back. Or eating a delicious pizza under the oldest and very beautiful belfry in the world in Saint Antonin Noble Val, or the invitation to a private party, or…

Oh, I forgot to show something from my chess games, but of course no one is waiting for that. I think the game below is still acceptable with a piece sacrifice and a quiet move. Donner would have liked it too with my sweet little a-pawn forcing the give-up.

If I don’t make it there myself next year, then give them all my very best regards! Be quick because the tournament has a limited capacity! I recommend every chess player to participate at least once.

Helmut Froeyman