A short walk on the beach

This morning I was able to sneak out of the chess-bubble for a moment. The tournament is in a very small village near the sea. When you walk (everything is maximum 10 minutes walking from our guesthouse, the sea is about 15 minutes away) to the sea you can see the whole village is living chess this time of year. Flags, banners to welcome the players and spectators, chessboards in windows and signs telling you can come in for a meal or a game of chess. (Extras)
In the tournament hall it was very empty today. Only the highest two groups are playing and not many spectators today. S played against an old Dutch champion today who still is a very high ranked player. S didn’t win, but had a very nice talk after the game with this man who S looks up to a lot.
Tomorrow the amateur 9 round tournament starts, 500 players. No empty seats anymore. Also a lot of spectators are expected the coming days. You need to register as a visitor to be sure you can enter the building. This is not for players, they can show their players card to come in. Things are very nicely organized for me: I recieved a special guest badge, so I can walk in whenever I am needed for E, without registration or even standing in line at the door! And for the needed care we can go to a room specially opened for us behind a door that is closed for the others without a badge.