I remember that I was passing a weekend with my grandmother in a village when on Sunday my father came to pick me up and take me back to the city.

It was my 6th birthday.

He greeted me happy birthday and conferred me a present with the dedication to grow into wise man and beat him in chess! Which I gradually managed to do. And not only once.

It had two parts, one was a book called “chess primer” and the other was small magnetic chess.

That book and magnetic chess became my very intimate friends, and were the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the game of chess and me.

You asked-What became of it?

Well, not much, just me with all my pros and cons, as a father of three great children who all play chess.

The rest, as it is modern to say, is history.

By the way, profound thanks to WordPress for this question as it awoke beautiful memories, especially today when is my sons birthday!

D.R.L.

January 10th, 2024