US Junior Chess Open, 1976

In 1990, shortly after my husband died, I was looking through some old photographs and came across a wonderful one of Dick and our 13 year old son Mark playing chess in 1972. I was dismayed, however, when I saw that the polaroid shot was fading almost beyond recognition. I mentioned it to Mark and, unbeknownst to me, he “stole” the photo when I wasn’t looking and painted the wonderfully stylized version that you see here. He captured the moment exactly as it had been in the original and it was his Christmas gift to me that year.

Fast forward to today. Chess has become a large part of Mark's life and he is highly rated and often competes in Raleigh, Fayetteville and beyond. His Dad would be so proud of him and, as we were reminiscing yesterday, Mark told me that he'd found a 1976 copy of “Chess Life & Review” on the net. It was a write-up of a time that Dick took him to participate in the US Junior Chess Open in Connecticut when he was 17.

This was in the article: “William Reuter was the highest rated upset in round one, losing to Mark Dean (NY) rated 1560”. Can you imagine how exciting this would be to a young and aspiring player?

Also of interest from the magazine article was this … “The tournament to be held in the University of Connecticut Conference Center. $62 includes 4 night's lodging and 12 meals plus the use of the facilities for each player.” (Makes me wonder what those big contests would cost today !)