I would like to take a few moments to reflect upon the life of my son, Zack, whose life was sadly cut short at the age of 16. In all honesty, his first love was baseball, but he will be remembered by all of us for his chess. I can still remember those nights in the Dayton Chess Club, where Zack would sit for hours on my lap and watch me play speed chess, even though he was only 2!! Not long after that he and I were actually playing chess together, and a few short years later, he bagan his chess career at the tender age of 6, drawing and winning his first two games.

Zack was one of the last of the 'old school' scholastic players, who came up on competition against adult players at every opportunity. He did win club championships in two schools in Ohio as a little tyke, but as his rating and ability climbed, we saw Zack more and more banging the clock against the best blitz players he could find.

It is always hard to bury a young son, and we will miss him so much. The good news is, however, that through the great game of chess, Zack and I built memories that will last forever!

Adam Wells