Eleven-year-old Ilias Majeed from Beringen will play the most important chess match of his life on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, when he faces Garry Kasparov in a simultaneous exhibition at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), HBVL reported.
How Ilias Secured His Seat Across From Kasparov
Ilias started playing chess only four years ago during his second year at the O.b.a.m.a. method school in Beringen, where he joined a lunchtime and classroom chess group. He also regularly plays against his uncle Frederik in his free time. To earn his place at the board against the 63-year-old Garry Kasparov, Ilias participated in preliminary rounds on Sunday, October 11, 2026, drawing hundreds of children to the DPG Media facilities in Antwerp as organized by Your Next Move, GVA reported.
Because he lacked extensive tournament experience, Ilias did not finish among the top twenty young players selected strictly on performance. Instead, he secured his entry through a lottery drawing held by the organizers. Inge Geerdens, an entrepreneur from Herk-de-Stad and founder of Your Next Move, noted that 400 children registered for the event, split evenly into morning and afternoon sessions of 200 players each. While four young talents earned their spots through tournament results, the lottery provided additional opportunities for participants.
I am actually a little bit nervous,
Ilias said, adding that he compares playing against Kasparov to facing Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo in football. He plans to spend the intervening week studying videos of Kasparov’s typical opening moves and practicing extra sessions.
Other Challengers Joining the Antwerp Exhibition
Ilias is not the only participant from Limburg or the sole notable figure stepping up to the board. Dietert Gielen, a 47-year-old from Hoeselt, also secured a spot after taking up serious play only three months prior. Gielen observed clear parallels between chess and business strategy, emphasizing the need for forward-thinking plans.
Alongside the youth competitors—which include Tristan Verhagen from Antwerp, Odilon Seyns from Turnhout, Ludwig Brand from Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe, Ivan Bolhov from Brussels, and Nand De Smet from Eeklo—several public figures will participate in the simultaneous display. Jan Vertonghen will trade the pitch for the board, joined by Viktor Verhulst, Geert Noels, and Peter De Roover.
What Lies Ahead at the KMSKA
The Your Next Move organization previously brought Kasparov to Belgium in 2025 for a similar exhibition. The upcoming matches on October 21, 2026, will be broadcast live on Proximus Showcase starting at approximately 19:30 local time. An exclusive documentary titled Garry Kasparov: Een zet vooruit is scheduled to follow on November 5 across Proximus Showcase and Pickx+.
,fit(1200:))
