Sem van Geffen is the new Stratego World Champion. The Stratego World Championship took place from 30 July to 2 August at the LEVEL building in Leiden. Sem claimed victory there in the two-day Classic tournament.
Classic is the traditional version of Stratego, in which both players compete with forty pieces. Each game had a total time limit of 65 minutes: five minutes to set up the pieces and sixty minutes of playing time. A total of ten rounds were played over two days.
With no fewer than 70 participants, the Classic tournament attracted an exceptionally large field. There was also a strong international presence, with fourteen players travelling to Leiden from Greece alone.
After an exciting tournament, Sem finished on top with 51 points, one point ahead of Benjamin Roos from Germany. Ray Manji from Canada completed the podium. Remarkably, the entire top seven consisted of players aged 26 or younger, showing that a strong new generation of Stratego players is making its mark.
Sem’s victory also adds another chapter to a remarkable family story. His brother Vince van Geffen won the previous three editions of the World Championship and finished fourth this year. Sem now succeeds him as World Champion. Their father Johnny van Geffen – the 1999 World Champion – also competed in the tournament.
The Van Geffen family was far from the only one represented. No fewer than eight father-son and father-daughter pairs took part. A great example of how Stratego is passed on within families and from one generation to the next.
Congratulations, Sem van Geffen – 2026 Stratego World Champion!