Ted is the Founder and Emeritus of National Chess camp, a partnership between National Music Camp and Chess Institute of Canada, which Ted founded in 2005. Born in Toronto, Ted’s career led him through a variety of fields, but he considered his biggest achievement to be the 25 years he and his wife, Heidi, spent parenting their three wonderful children.

Ted played chess for over sixty years and decided to put the skills he developed as a parent to good use teaching other children. Starting in 1997, he developed his teaching style by working with parents and staff at Palmerston Ave. P.S. in Toronto. Two decades later his Chess Institute teaches more than 5,000 children in over 90 Toronto schools including in under-serviced neighbourhoods, also working with children with special needs, and at-risk youth.

Ted loved the learning experience, his personal mission being to help children discover their natural curiosity and see that learning anything can be fun. The motto of Chess Institute is “Bringing Chess to life”. Ted's personal teaching motto was “Consider the consequences of your moves before you make them”. Starting National Chess Camp and assembling the great faculty listed here were great moves. We can’t wait to see the consequences!

Ted passed away in 2019, but his contributions to chess in Canada and to children’s education endures.

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