*Boris Baczynskyj ***

*Visitation:*
Saturday, January 26, 2008
1:00 PM until 2:00 PM
St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church
1013 Fox Chase Road
Jenkintown, Pa 19046

*Service:*
Saturday, January 26, 2008
2:00 PM
St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church
1013 Fox Chase Road
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,
1013 Fox Chase Rd., 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) c/o
Fletcher-Nasevich Funeral Home, 9529 Bustleton Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa
19115