Today many at Chess Institute of Canada are in a reflective mood, thinking about the organization’s founder Ted Winick on what would have been his seventy-eighth birthday.

In 1998, Ted started a chess club in a school near his home. From these humble beginnings CIC was born a few years later, expanding to thirty-two Toronto schools. Today, CIC’s instructors teach young people the wonders and values of chess throughout Toronto and across Canada.

As Ted once said: “If I told you this is a tutoring program which will significantly improve your child’s reading, math, logic and problem-solving skills, focus an ADD kid, humble a braggart, boost the self-esteem and confidence of a shy child, and teach the real-world skills of learning from mistakes, thinking before acting, and showing consideration for others—and your child will love this course and see it as fun—you would agree it is magic.”

Ted’s contributions to the chess community in Toronto and beyond can hardly be overstated. CIC has taught tens of thousands of students over the past seventeen years. Additionally, Ted founded National Chess Camp, a week-long overnight camp associated with National Music Camp, which attracts chess players from across the country and beyond every summer.

The Annex Chess Club, also founded by Ted, is now entering its second decade and has become a significant player on the Canadian chess scene, hosting major tournaments such as the Ontario Open, Toronto Open, Toronto Closed and the GTCL Cup.

Ted’s generosity of spirit, tireless energy, and belief in the power of chess to better people’s lives has touched countless lives, and continues to inspire us at CIC today.