> *Boris Baczynskyj ***
>
> *Visitation:*
> Saturday, January 26, 2008
> 1:00 PM until 2:00 PM
> St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church
>
> Jenkintown, Pa 19046
>
> *Service:*
> Saturday, January 26, 2008
> 2:00 PM
> St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church
>
> Jenkintown, Pa 19046
>
>
>
> Boris Baczynskyj, an internationally known FIDE Chess Master, popular
> local
> chess instructor and journalist died suddenly on January 16, 2008.
> He was 62. Mr. Baczynskyj was born in Vienna, Austria to the late Dr.
> Wolodymyr and Maria Sodomora Baczynskyj. He was a long time resident of
> Philadelphia, attending grammer school and graduating from St. Joseph's
> Preparatory School. He went on to earn a B.A. in Political Science from
> Yale
> University.
>
> After graduation, Mr. Baczynskyj served with the Peace Corps in Thailand
> and
> later remained in Cambodia, Southeast Asia, working as a freelance
> journalist for UPI, *Far Eastern Economic Review* and other
publications.
>
> After Cambodia was overrun by the Khmer Rouge, Mr. Baczynskyj returned
to
> the U.S. and immersed himself in the world of chess, competing actively
in
> national and international tournaments.
> At one point, he was the third ranked chess player in the US. He also
> served
> as editor of one of the major national chess publications, *Chess Life*
> and
> was Chess Advisor for the world's largest manufacturer of computer chess
> products, Fidelity International. He became a well-known chess tutor,
> instructor, and commentator. He co-authored *Computer Chess II* with
> Charles
> Welsh, (Dubuque, IA; WM. C. Brown, 1985), annotated the games of various
> Chess Masters, including Bobby Fischer, and worked on the the 3rd
*Sargon
> Manual* (Hayden Software Company, Lowell, MA). In addition, he wrote
> theoretical and instructional articles on chess and computerized chess.
>
> As a chess instructor, he tirelessly taught and promoted chess,
especially
> to young children in private and public schools. Boris provided many
> simultaneous chess exhibitions in venues such as schools, shopping malls
> and
> public fairs. He deeply cared about his young students and celebrated
> their
> achievements, such as during the Philadelphia Schools (Benjamin Franklin
> High and Vaux Junior High) chess teams' chess trip to Yugoslavia.
>
> During the early years of Ukrainian independence, Mr. Baczynskyj again
> worked as a journalist for a few years in Kyiv, Ukraine and his articles
> were published by Intelnews, Cox Publishers and The Ukrainian Weekly. He
> returned to Philadelphia and continued teaching, writing, lecturing and
> chess promotion. In Philadelphia, he was an active member of the
Franklin
> Mercantile Chess Club.
>
> In his youth, Mr. Baczynskyj belonged to the Ukrainian Scouting
> Organization
> "Plast" and was a member of its "Burlaky" fraternity. He was active in
> Ukrainian-American Chess life, belonging to the USCAK Chess Club and
> participated in Ukrainian-American tournaments, winning championships
> several times.
>
> His personal values were reflected in his life-long promotion of civil
> rights. During his college days, he participated in several protests
> supporting racial integration and was once even caught up in a mass
arrest
> during a protest march in St. Petersburg, Florida. He promated the
concept
> of "Equal rights for all" to his community by translating "We Shall
> Overcome" into Ukrainian. Surprisingly, it became the theme song at the
> Scout's East Chatham "Plast" camp that summer. His anti-war convictions
> during the Vietnam era led him to organize a march on the American
Embassy
> in Thailand to protest Nixon's secret bombing of Cambodia.
>
>He will be sorely missed.
>
>
> May he rest in Peace!
>
>
>
> Funeral services will be held on Saturday (January 26) at 2:00 PM with
> family greeting friends at 1:00 PM at St. Michael's Ukr. Catholic
Church,
> Jenkintown, Pa. Services to be followed by burial at St.
> Mary's Cemetery, Elkins Park, Pa
> In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be sent to:
> USCAK-CHESS (Ukrainian Sports Federation of USA & Canada) \>
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