It came as a tremendous shock. On February 14th, I was checking notifications on my phone and read that my student had passed away. I was stunned. Months earlier, I had the great pleasure of playing blitz chess with him in the backyard. Later that evening he would leave for his freshman year in college.
I told his grandmother, “This hurts so bad. (Name of student) had a truly remarkable combination of empathy and intelligence that made him an excellent student and friend. My heart goes out to you in this time of great loss. He will be truly missed.”Honestly though, words do not give justice to how much promise this young man had and how painful the news of his passing was.
Teaching was very difficult during the next several days but chess also offered an escape. I had the day off today so the post you are reading is my first attempt to come to terms with the fact that I have lost a student and friend forever.