Narender Nath Annual Memorial Chess Tournament

The tournament started out as an annual affair for employees and consultants at Workforce Logistics in New York. We had a number of people who liked to play but not a lot of time -- a perfect scenario for correspondence chess.

The player skills were quite varied -- ranging from very experienced to extremely junior. However, for us it was an opportunity for a diversion from work stuff, providing something else to chat over during lunch besides work. Trophies were awarded at the end of the tournament and everyone had a great time.

One of the players who had a lot of fun was Narender Nath. He was somewhat familiar with the rules of the game but had never really played before so a lot of the basics were new to him. However, Narender was one of those people who just loved to be involved with people. We trounced him in every game -- yet he accepted every loss with a laugh and once eliminated, followed all of the other games closely so that he could learn more. When the tournament was over, he promised revenge in his always-friendly manner.

Narender left our company in April, 2001 and went back to work at the World Trade Center, where he was working on September 11, 2001. We all lost a very close and wonderful friend on that day. As we geared up for the second tournament, Narender came to mind. We all knew how he made the tournament so much fun for all of us and how he represented the best in any player, graciously losing all of his games. We decided to rename the tournament in his name to honor him. Once we did that, we then felt that if the tournament were to carry his name, then it should represent what Narender stood for in life. For that reason, we decided to charge a minimal entry fee of $25, with the intent that the entire prize pool would be donated to the charity of the winner's choice. Needless to say, we were overwhelmed when everyone insisted on donating more than that! On May of 2002, Harry Tucker, on behalf of all the players, made the first tournament donation in the amount of $1050. Thousands of dollars have been donated to charities since that first year. Every penny raised by the tournament goes to charity, with the tournament organizers covering costs out of their own pocket.

Every year, the tournament gets bigger and better than ever. For us, the tournament gives us so many things, namely:

· An opportunity to remember a dear friend,

· The chance to have fun playing chess,

· A chance to meet new friends,

· An opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of others through our donation.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Harry - Tournament Director

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