Corus in retrospect.
The Corus tournament is always the main event we look forward to. Every year we go with 10-15 men from our club to Wijk aan Zee. The whole village breathes chess. The last few hundred meters you have to drive careful because chessplayers jump before your car, deep in thoughts. Playing with 700 persons in one hall is a hard to describe experience. The athmosphere seems to exhale chess vibes and the smell of pea soup. If you go to the bathroom you fall in a discussion about the advantages of bishop a6. Before the first game there is a lot of handshaking to all those old opponents you played in previous years. You play with 10 persons of the same level in a 9 round robin. Playing nine days in the same group develops chess bonds between persons that last ever since. After the game there is the "straffe Hendrik" and other strong beers and a lot of laughter. You are in a different world. It is really vacation. I was with 1712 the lowest rated player in my group (1712-1795). Except