Belgian Grandmaster Luc Winants (1 January 1963 – 7 February 2023) died

Luc Winants was born on 1 January 1963 in Watermael-Boitsfort near Brussels. His father Henri Winants (1929-2014) was also a strong chess player who won the Belgian Individual Championship in 1975 together with Johan Goormachtigh and José Tonoli.

As a youngster, Luc Winants took part in several international youth Opens. In 1982, as a 19-year-old, Luc Winants was one of the participants in the U20 World Youth Championship in Copenhagen and finished in the middle of the field.

In 1984 Luc Winants played his first Chess Olympiad for the Belgian national team on the first reserve board. Between 1986 and 2016 he played in eight more Chess Olympiads for Belgium, until 2006 and then again in 2014 and 2016 on the top board.

At the 2016 Chess Olympiad, Winants had the chance to play against Magnus Carlsen, among others.

Photo: David Llada

Winants remained unbeaten in Thessaloniki in 1984 and in Calvia in 2004. Only Albéric O'Kelly de Galway had previously achieved this feat among Belgian players, in Moscow in 1956.

Winants also represented Belgium at the European Team Championships in 1989 and 2007.

Winant's tournament successes include winning the Belgian National Championship in 1986 (with 10 out of 12) and first place at the Barcelona Tournament in 1991.

Winants played in team competitions in various leagues, for example in the British Four Nations Leage for Slough Chess Club, in Luxembourg for C.E. Le Cavalier Differdange and in the Netherlands for a long time for Rotterdam, since the 2013-14 season for En Passant Bunschoten-Spakenburg. In France Winants played for L'Echiquier Cappellois from Cappelle la Grande and in Germany for SC Bann.

In Belgium, he reached the semi-finals of the European Club Cup with Anderlecht in 1986. Later he played for KSK Rochade Eupen-Kelmis, for Cercle Royal de Liège, from 2006 to 2008 for Cercle des Echecs de Charleroi, from 2008 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2016 for Schachfreunde Wirtzfeld. With Wirtzfeld, Winants was Belgian Champion from 2012 to 2016. From 2010 to 2012, Winants played for Ans. In the 2018/19 season, he played for Club d'échecs de Watermael-Boitsfort.

Luc Winants was awarded the title of International Master in 1986 and the Grandmaster title by FIDE in 1998. Until 2004 Luc Winants was the only Belgian Grandmaster born in the country. Winants' highest rating was 2571 in 2015.

With the white pieces, Luc Winants had a preference for 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 long before the opening became popular.

Luc Winants died on 7 February. He was 60 years old.