The championship of Belgium was for players of Belgian nationality, whereas non-Belgians could win the championship of the federation. A championship for women was established in 1938.
In 1970 the Federation Belge des Echecs was renamed the Federation Royale Belge des Echecs and from then on there is only one title, the Champion of Belgium.
In 1936 there were three Belgian championships because some players did not agree with the way things were organized and they decided to hold their own championship events, one where only Belgian players were allowed and one “international” Belgian championship.
The winner of the 1951 championship was Alberic O'Kelly de Galway and the women’s title was won by Simone Bussers
This event was for the championship of the federation and so foreign players (van Seters and Soultanbeieff) were allowed to play. O’Kelly was the main favorite, of course, and he did win by scoring victory after victory although he did suffer one defeat at the hands of van Seters.
Theorists generally frown on the idea of holding on to a gambit Pawn and often contemptuously dismissed as pointless greed that deserves punishment and that is often exactly what happens. But, this game is different as the tables are turned. The way that O’Kelly does it here is imaginative and surprising.
O’Kelly’s opponent was Georges Pierre Joseph Thibaut (November 25. 1920 - November 10, 2018) was one of Belgium's leading players form the end of 1940s to the early 1960s.
He participated in all the Belgian Championships from 1948 up to 1961, finishing third three time, in 1951, 1952 and 1953. In 1961. After a traffic accident in 1961 he stopped participating in tournaments.
Alberic Joseph Rodolphe Marie Robert Ghislain O'Kelly de Galway (May 17, 1911 - October 3, 1980, was a chess writer, GM in both otb and correspondence chess. He won the third ICCF World Champion (1959–1962). As a youth, he took lessons from the legendary Akiba Rubinstein.
A. Thibaut–A. O'Kelly0–1A00Belgian Championship, Vervires1951Stockfish 16
D30: Queen's Gambit Declined 1.d4 f6 2.f3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.g5 b4+ 5.bd2 Strangely enough, after this move black can capture the gambit Pawn and hold
onto it...something he cannot do after 5.Nc3. dxc4! 6.a4+ c6 7.e5
This is a waste of time. 7.e3 d5 8.xf6 b5 9.c2 gxf6 10.a3 and black
has only a nominal advantage. 7...d5 7...d7 aiming for ...Bxd2+ is
slightly more accurate. 8.xc6 8.xc6
8...xd2+ 9.xd2 xc6 10.xc4 e4 Black is slightly
better. 8.xc6 xd2+ 9.xd2 d7 This is the point...black does not want
to be a P ahead if he has triple, isolated c-Pawns. 9...xc6 10.xc6+ bxc6 11.e3 and it's white who enjoys a slight advantage. 10.c1 b5 This
interpolation holds the Pawn. 11.c2 11.a5 xc6 12.b3 0-0 13.bxc4 bxc4 14.e3 fb8 Slightly better was 14...Ne4 15.f3 b5 16.c3 d6 16...d5
was better. Then after 17.xc4 d6 18.e4 e8 the chances are about equal
because white cannot play... 19.exd5 exd5+ 20.e2 b2 and wins 17.xc4 h5 18.g3 ½-½ Movsziszian,K (2528)-Suba,M (2503) Albacete 2004 11...xc6 12.b3 It looks like white is going to recover his Pawn. cxb3 O'Kelly is
playing sharp, tactical chess...interesting stuff! 12...xd4 This is
actually more accurate as after 13.bxc4 e4 14.e3 xc4 15.xc4 bxc4 16.xc4 d7 Black is slightly better. 13.axb3 d7 14.b4 Played in order to
prevent black from castling, but it's an inaccuracy that results in black
getting a much better position. 14.b2 keeps white in the game. After e4 15.f4 b4! It's best to return the P. 16.xc7 g5 17.g3 e7 18.e3 xg3 19.hxg3 hc8 20.xc8 xc8 Theoretically the game is equal, but black's
position is the more active. 14...a5 Well played because it gains a tempo
which, as we shall see, is important later on. 14...xd4 is less active
because after 15.c5 e4 16.b2 It's amazing that even though white is two
Ps down his position is preferable. b4 17.f3 b7 18.f2 b5 19.e4 xf1 20.hxf1 a5 21.fd1 Even though black is two Ps up, his K is caught in the
center and his R on h8 is out of play. As a result his position is difficult. 15.c5 Watch white's position completely fall apart. e4 16.b1 16.a3
keeps fighting. a4 17.b4 d6 17...xd4 is also playable, but the text is
even better 18.e3 d5 19.e2 19.xc7 d2# 19...f5 20.f3 f6 21.b2 0-0 and white is still in the game. 16...xc5 17.xc5 b7 17...xd4-+
has better winning chances. 18.c1 a4 19.bxa4 xa4 Threatening ...Ra1 20.e3 b4+ 21.c3 a1+ 22.d2 b1 and black is winning. 18.c2 A critical
moment has arisen, but white was not up to the challenge. 18.e3 keeps
black's advantage at a minimum. For example... a4 19.bxa4 xa4 20.xb5 xb5 21.xb5+ xb5 22.xb5 a1+ 23.e2 xh1 24.b8+ d7 25.xh8 xh2 26.f3
White should be able to draw. 18...0-0 O'Kelly returns the Pawn for an
enduring initiative, but now white should have been able to get right back in
the game. 18...a4 should prove decisive as after 19.f3 a3 20.a2 b4 21.f2 b6 22.e3 a5 and black should be able to squeeze out the win. 19.xc7 Natural...and bad. 19.e3 Surprisingly, this equalizes. a4 20.d3 h6 21.b4 fc8 22.h7+ h8 23.e4 c6 24.0-0 and even though he has an
extra P black will have a hard time making progress because of his bad B. 19...d5 Black has a lead in development that results in an attack against
whites' King which is still in the center. 20.c5 Of course black cannot
take the b-Pawn...or can he? 20.e4 was a better defense, but even so, after
xd4 21.e2 fc8 22.0-0 d6 23.c3 b4 Black still has a decisive
advantage. 20...xb3 Yes, he can! 21.xd7 a4 White's pieces
are either undeveloped or misplaced...he has little in the way of defensive
resources. Black is clearly winning. 22.e3 a3 23.d2 ac8 24.c7 b2+ 25.c2 xc7 26.xb2 axb2 27.xb5 fc8 White resigned. 27...fc8 28.d3 c1 29.d1 8c3 30.e2 xd3 wins easily. 0–1
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