Belgium — Meet the man who’s making Belgium shake to its core. Belgian politics has been distracted by “gender nonsense climate madness and — ‘oh no’ — the end of the world!” bellowed Tom Van Grieken the leader of Flanders’ far-right Vlaams Belang party in a campaign speech at a pub in a town south of Brussels “What more and more Flemish people are worried about,” he said in the little strip of Flanders that’s squeezed between the capital and the French-Flemish language border with Wallonia anti-woke warpath that is set to end in a crushing victory in national regional and European elections on Sunday. His party’s rise casts a shadow over the future of the small Benelux country where power is divided between the federal government through federal mechanisms like social security contributes more to national budgets than the others Belgium’s Byzantine state structure and political divide between Francophone and Flemish communities have made governing hard. Its current federal government includes seven parties It already holds the world record for the longest period without a government needing 541 days in 2010-2011 to reach a coalition agreement What separates Vlaams Belang from other far-right parties surging across Europe is its ultimate goal: To separate the northern region of Flanders from the French-speaking, left-leaning southern region of Wallonia. Vlaams Belang supporters showed up in droves to see Van Grieken in Dworp. Their enthusiasm foreshadowed what many expect will happen on Sunday: Vlaams Belang is projected to become Belgium’s biggest party with around 26 percent of Flemish votes its campaign has tapped into discontent over security issues and rising costs ultraconservative platform is linked to a separatist agenda “Flemish money should first and foremost go to Flemish families!” said Van Grieken — a jab at both public spending to help immigrants and to support Wallonia Belgium hosts seats of the major EU institutions as well as the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). That role as an international political hub is at stake if Vlaams Belang’s dreams to secede come true A split of the country would also cause shockwaves across Europe where regions from Scotland to Catalonia have sought to secede in the past decade but attempts have hit legal Vlaams Belang has taken a page from the playbook of the 1992 separation of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It wants an “orderly separation” of Belgium member of the European Parliament and the party’s chief ideologue The starting point would be a “declaration of sovereignty” in the regional Flemish Parliament That would force Wallonia’s regional government to start negotiating a separation laying out how everything from army assets to the country’s national debt would be split Vlaams Belang wants to give Walloon counterparts five years to reach a deal Flanders would unilaterally declare its independence Very few politicians and analysts outside of Vlaams Belang believe in the plan. a prominent political analyst and professor at Ghent University with Brussels … The idea that you can do this within five years is Van Grieken’s most obvious partner in realizing secession is the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the only other Flemish party to advocate for independence. Polls indicate that N-VA and Vlaams Belang together could win close to 50 percent of the Flemish vote. But the N-VA’s leader, Bart De Wever warning it would trigger a “Catalan scenario” of chaos and turmoil. A unilateral declaration of independence would mean Flanders would cut its ties to Brussels — the nation’s and even the region’s own capital — and would exit the EU, De Wever told Van Grieken in a recent TV show The N-VA instead pitches a medium-term transformation of the country into a “confederal” state with minimal powers at the national level Vlaams Belang’s Vandendriessche dismissed the warnings that secession would lead to chaos “Catalonia is a minority in the periphery of Europe We are a majority in the heart of Europe,” he said Vlaams Belang is almost entirely blocked from getting into power All other major political parties in Belgium have a long-standing tradition called the cordon sanitaire that bars the party from power because of its extreme positions (and its predecessor’s conviction for racism in 2004) Much like France’s National Rally leader Jordan Bardella Van Grieken — just 28 when he became the party’s president — is making the party feel more polished Van Grieken communicates his party’s often radical messages with a mischievous twinkle in the eye even when they voiced a distaste for his party is that I’ve broken through the social cordon,” he told POLITICO As he walked through a garage sale on a Colruyt supermarket parking lot — his first campaign stop that day — three young women stopped him for a selfie An older man pulled him aside for a quick chat: “I’m definitely voting for you,” the man said Van Grieken’s campaign, with its main slogan “Flanders ours again,” has struck a chord with young voters The party outspends all other Belgian parties on social media often with conservative messaging around topics like migration and warnings of the “woke” left Van Grieken’s leadership means the taboo on voting for the far-right party is dissipating but not too much,” one supporter said at another campaign stop where locals had gathered to watch a cycling race. Vlaams Belang clashes heavily with Belgium’s overwhelmingly liberal norms It leans heavily conservative on issues like abortion and same-sex adoption. The party has faced long-standing questions about its ties to foreign authoritarian regimes — which Van Grieken has failed to address adequately. The controversies and extreme positions have kept the door shut for Vlaams Belang in its attempts to govern All other parties have dismissed governing with Van Grieken after the June 9 vote — at any government level Van Grieken has made it his mission to break the cordon sanitaire that means growing the far-right voting bloc even more to make sure his party controls the political process in Belgium has managed to do just that is a “hopeful sign,” Van Grieken said the party president underlined his mission: “Only when our party can become the biggest party only then will the Flemish be listened to … and will Flanders be ours again.” For more polling data from across Europe visit POLITICO Poll of Polls The far-right chief qualifies for the presidential runoff in which he will face centrist Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan Romania’s political loyalties are complex Don’t expect ganging up against Simion in the second round Brussels is chockablock with people trying to influence new rules on everything from Big Tech to pesticide use Here’s where they’ve put most of their efforts POLITICO analyzes all the data on the most likely presidential runoff races ahead of next month’s existential vote These days almost every other day we hear about a young kid breaking some kind of record and etching their name history making us all believe that chess is a 'young man's game' 69-year-old Belgian IM Ekrem Cekro had something else in his mind. On 21st of September Ekrem Cekro scored 12.0/13 and won Belgium Blitz Championship which is a rare feat to achieve for a man of his age The only game he lost was in round six against the top seed and eventual runner-up of the tournament GM Miguel Minoz. Miguel scored 11.0/13 Second seeded 4-year-old Belgian sensation Daniel Dardha scored 9.5/13 to finish sixth Total 162 players participated in this year's Belgium Blitz championship IM Ekrem Cekro scored 12.0/13 with a performance of 2654 and finished a full point ahead of the runner-up and second seed of the tournament GM Miguel Minoz Ekrem's only loss in the event was against Miguel in the sixth round The Belgian club SK Dworp organized Deblast Memorial for the sixth time on 21st September 2019 For the past three years this tournament has been recognized as the official Belgium Blitz championship 14-year-old Belgian budding talent Daniel Dardha who won many tournaments this summer including Belgian championship Brasschaat tournament, Tonoli Memorial and more had a lot of eyes on him but of course you win some and lose some This year 162 players participated which is 30 more than the last edition The tournament took place on the first fall day which the organizers believe to be a success formula that cannot fail The spacious tent gave the players the unique opportunity to be close to the mother nature Last year in 2018 there were 17 titled players, this year there were 23, including two grandmasters, five IMs, thirteen FMs, two WFMs and one CM. Over a quarter of the participants had more than 2000 blitz Elo. It needs to be mentioned that as many as 21 Dworp residents Complete standings We have launched the ChessBase India App. Check out this amazing resource! Android for now - Download the app now Follow Tweets by @ChessbaseIndia ChessBase India is proud to be the official partner of chessbase.com reporting on events in India Like our Facebook page for more Indian chess updates The all new ChessBase Premium Account which gives you access to ten amazing online ChessBase services like PlayChess Become a part of the ever-growing ChessBase India Youtube Channel. Subscribe now and stay update with our awesome video content.