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• Corus 2005 14 - 30 January 2005;  the tournament home page - live feed available
• Peter Leko wins Wijk aan Zee 2005 summary from ChessBase - all results and games available
• Tournament Standings from chessgames.com - also has links to (completed) games
• ChessBase the main ChessBase page will often have tournament reports
• BCM Chess the British Chess Magazine also usually has an uptodate summary of results
• TWIC for convenience, the always reliable "The Week in Chess"
• Corus 05: Wijk aan Zee Super-GM very good ChessBase article
• Wijk aan Zee where it happens - also from ChessBase
• Wijk aan Zee: Lucas Photos Fred Lucas's photo montage
• Wijk aan Zee: Korteling Photos Siep Korteling's photos

The Kenney Reports

• 22 Jan 2005
  

  This is just a short message to let you know Jason and I arrived yesterday at the Corus Chess Tournament, which is extremely well organized. So far I have 1.5 points out of the two games I played. A draw in round #1 and a win today. Jason won his game today but did not get to play yesterday as one player did not show up in his section. I understand they are posting all the results on the web site even for the amateur sections where we are playing.
  It is amazing to see so many of the worlds best players together in one place at the same time.
  The trip out to Wijk aan Zee takes about one hour from Amsterdam Central Station which is not bad. The train ride is great and we get to enjoy the Dutch countryside. The weather is just great as well.....no snow here.
  David

  This may be the web page David refers to: http://home.hccnet.nl/w.haggenburg/cct05tien.html. Its title is "CORUS 2005; TIENKAMPEN"; I'm guessing that the word 'tienkampen' refers to a 10-round event. [10 Feb 2005: David's report below shows that I was wrong about this.] You can go to that page and search on 'kenney'. If anyone finds a better (i.e. with more English!) version of that page please let me know, by mail to webmaster. Thanks for the report, David - keep 'em coming!
  
  

• 27 Jan 2005
  

  Jason is still doing ok with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss yesterday in a game he was winning. Jason played too quickly aand fell for a one move checkmate which could have been prevented if he saw it in time. Not sure, but I believe he may still be tied for first in his section. Jason is hoping to obtain a FIDE rating after this event as he will be playing enough FIDE rated players in his section to qualify. We will have to checck the rules when we return.
  The GM games are very exciting to watch, especially the games of 13 year old Magnus Carlsen who even has a new book published about his games and life so far. Jason bought the book as it displays very impressive victories over GMs. The book is called Wonderboy and he may be the next Fischer or Kasparov!
  Jason and I have taken several photos from the tournament and we hope to share them with everyone when we return.
  This is probably the best chess tournament I have attended and would recommend it to anyone who wants to play chess in Europe.
  I will give a better report of our experiences at the Corus Chess Tournament when I return to Canada.
  David

• 1 Feb 2005 [webmaster's note]
  The link given above, http://home.hccnet.nl/w.haggenburg/cct05tien.html, is still only reporting on 9 rounds; I thought it was a ten-round tournament but may be mistaken [this is explained in David's report below.] As far as I can figure, after 9 rounds Jason is tied for the lead in his section (3A), while David is in a 2nd place tie in his section (5C). There seems to be only one other Canadian playing in this particular tournament, one T.P. Termeer.
  
  
• 10 Feb 2005

  2005 Corus Chess Tournament - An Amateur's Perspective Part 1

  The tournament was held in the beautiful resort town of Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands over the January 14 to 30 period. This was the 68th version of this annual chess tournament, which was first held in 1938 and has been held every year since with the exception of the year 1945. It was interesting to note this tournament was even held during most of the Second World War years (1940-1944) presumably with fewer international players due to the occupation of Holland by Germany. This tournament was extremely well organized and everything ran on schedule. It was evident why the event is recognized as the world's leading chess tournament! With approximately 2,000 players and/or spectators scattered among the various events it was a pleasure to participate in a very professionally run event with no problems observed.
  The town of Wijk aan Zee is approximately 30 kilometers, as the crow flies, from the city of Amsterdam. However, due to the location of road and/or rail lines, it is probably closer to 50 kilometers if you travel by car or train from Amsterdam. There is a beautiful sand beach in Wijk aan Zee which seems to extend for miles in either direction. The high sand dunes remind me of Cavendish Beach in Prince Edward Island. The town must be a popular seaside resort area for Europeans in the summer time. There were numerous seasonal bars and/or restaurants located near the beach which have outside patios during the summer months. The town only has approximately eight hotels, most of which seem to be rather small and converted from large homes in the area. However, there are a few larger hotels, one of which (Zeeduin) being in the four star category. This is the hotel where I believe most of the Grandmaster "A" participants stayed. Due to the very limited number of hotel rooms available in Wijk aan Zee you must make your reservations at least three months in advance of the tournament if you wish to stay in town.
  Jason and I decided to stay in Amsterdam and commute to and from Wijk aan Zee on a daily basis as there was no accommodation available by the time we knew we were selected to participate in the tournament. I actually enjoyed the commute each day as it gave me a chance to see more of the countryside in Holland. In order to get to Wijk aan Zee from Amsterdam we traveled by train (electric) from Amsterdam Central Station to the Beverwijk train station which was located near Wijk aan Zee. We then traveled a short distance by a connection bus from the Beverwijk train station to the tournament site in Wijk aan Zee. The entire travelling time from Amsterdam Central Station to Wijk aan Zee was about one hour or less. A return train ticket from Amsterdam to Beverwijk and back to Amsterdam cost us 8.70 euros per day which at todays exchange rates is about $14. The cost of the bus fare from Beverwijk to Wijk aan Zee was about $2 each way. If you stay in Wijk aan Zee you would save the daily commute costs but you would not be able to enjoy the various attractions available in Amsterdam. Jason and I enjoyed the extremely large selection of restaurants available at night in Amsterdam as well as the shopping and museums so we did not mind the daily commute.
  The Corus Chess Tournament was held in three buildings plus the "chess pavilion". The main tournament site was the De Moriaan Sport Hall which housed the three Grandmaster Tournaments plus most of the amateur sections. Some of the lower rated sections played in a large room in the pub/restaurant located next to the De Moriaan Sport Hall. Some of the other chess tournament events going on at the same time (such as the rapid tournaments) were held about a five minute walk up the road at the Heliomare Sport Hall. The daily commentary on the Grandmaster games was located in a large temporary structure located around the corner from the De Moriaan Sport Hall.
  Each of the Grandmaster Sections (A, B, and C) had 14 players playing a single round robin tournament. All the games were played used wooden electronic chess boards which enabled the tournament organizers to display their games on any one of the eight large screen flat panel LCD/Plasma TV monitors. This enabled the players in the amateur sections to follow the GM games on the TV monitors while playing their own games. Access to the Grandmaster A and Grandmaster B sections was restricted by a small fence used to keep the spectators a short distance away from the GMs to give them some space to play their games.
  The Corus Chess Tournament is made up of numerous types of chess tournaments depending upon your interest and the time you are able to commit to the event. Jason and I played in the Tienkampen events which is essentially made up of a large number of 10 player round robin tournaments. I believe there were about 544 players participating in the Tienkampen event scattered throughout the various sections. There were 9-rounds played over a ten-day period. We played one game per day with a single "rest day" after the 6th round. The time control used was 40 moves in 2 hours plus one hour sudden death. Most of the games started at 1:30pm each day with the exception of the first and last days. The Tienkampen events were organized by rating level with the International Masters and Fide Masters playing in the level one events (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, etc). Players rated in the 2100 to 2200 range played in the level two events (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, etc.). Jason Kenney played in the level three tournaments (3A) finishing tied for first place. I played in the level 5 events (5C) and ended in second place. I believe the levels went down to about level nine so that all skill levels could have an opportunity to participate in the Corus tournament playing people of similar skill level.
  Prize money was the same for all of the amateur levels and was given to the top 5 players in each section. In other words 50% of all competitors in the Tienkampen ended with at least some prize money. The prize money was not great with 1st place being 50 euros, 2nd place 40 euros, 3rd place 30 euros, 4th place 25 euros, 5th place 20 euros. I do not believe anyone in the amateur sections participates at Corus just for the prize money. Essentially, they go for the experience and excitement of watching the world's best players compete with each other. The entry fees for the various Corus tournaments is also very low. For example the entry fee for the Tienkampen event was only 25 euros which is about $40. The Grandmaster A event has more significant prize money with first place taking a 10,000 euro prize ($16,000). Second place receives a 7,000 euro prize. Prize money exceeding 1,000 euros is given to players finishing as low as seventh place. Prize money is also a little smaller for the Grandmaster B and Grandmaster C events.
  I found all the players I met at the tournament to be very kind. The players in my section always spoke to me in English even though their first language was something else, primarily Dutch. I believe there were players from about twenty different countries participating in the Corus tournament. The organizers raised the flags of the players countries outside the De Moriaan Sport Hall to recognize their presence. It was nice to see the Canadian flag among the flags of the others countries blowing in the breeze outside. Besides Jason and I there may have been one other Canadian player at the tournament but we did not run into this individual.
  The daily commentary in the Corus Chess Pavilion was for the most part given in Dutch but sometimes it was given in English. This depended upon the particular GM who was giving the commentary for the day. The commentary was provided by different GMs each day. The audience was also asked to vote on the most interesting GM game played during the day with a cash prize (200 euros?) given to the GM who played the game.
  The food service at the tournament was also great. A variety of sandwiches including smoked salmon, and pea soup, together with a large selection of drinks, were always available at the snack bar. The weather was also very good with no snow!!!! Most days the temperature was around +8 or +9 degrees Celsius, which made it nice to explore the town.
  There were also numerous pubs and/or restaurants nearby which were used by the players to go over their games while enjoying a selection of Dutch and other European beers! It was interesting to note that all of these pubs and restaurants supplied tournament quality chess sets and clocks at each table for their customers to use. Even some of the hotels displayed large lawn size chess sets in their windows to attract the players.
  Jason and I also attended the prize giving ceremony banquet held on the last day. This was included in the cost of the entry fee. They served us lots of red and white wine of our choice, an endless supply of their famous pea soup and lots of rye bread and Dutch gouda cheese. They also served french bread and liquor filled chocolates with our tea and coffee. The pea soup meal has become a tradition at this tournament with its roots coming from the war years (1940) when food was scarce and the players were fed a combination of pea soup, gouda cheese and rye bread. They apparently have been following this tradition ever since that time.
  I will continue with more comments of our experience at the Corus Chess Tournament in Part 2 of this article together with some games and photos.
  
  David Kenney

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  Some of David's games are now available on our Games Collection page, and his Corus pictures are here.

• Jason has contributed his 8 Corus games (see our Game Collection) and has also written an extensive set of notes on his games.