"Since playing chess my daughter’s confidence has soared. We are grateful to her chess coach and the Chicago Chess Foundation for giving her the incredible gift of chess."
— Joy Austria, CPS parent and CCF volunteer
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In Loving Memory Of
Jerry Neugarten
The Chicago chess community lost one of its greatest champions: Jerry Neugarten. After a long illness, Jerry passed away peacefully at his home in Highland Park on Aug. 9.
Jerry played many roles—a founder of the Chicago Chess Foundation, a former vice president, a tireless supporter of youth chess, and an architect of CCF’s mission to provide every child in Chicago opportunities to learn, play and compete in chess at no cost. Jerry helped draft the bylaws of the organization, raised and donated funds, and wrote an instructional handbook still used by our trainers called “Teaching Chess to Groups.” Jerry also assembled and distributed research pointing to the significant benefits of chess for improving cognitive skills and academic performance.
We will miss Jerry for his commitment to chess education and competition, but we also will miss Jerry for his encyclopedic knowledge of chess, his humor, and his friendship.