The US Chess Federation presented Kornelijs (Neil) Dale with an “Outstanding Career Achievement Award” at the 2012 U.S. Open. For most of that chess career, Neil was Professor of Accounting at Mt. Hood Community College and spent his weekends directing tournaments for the Portland Chess Club. Neil donated his directing fees, which allowed the club to maintain a permanent, spacious location. Neil served on the Portland Chess Club Board of Directors, most recently from 2000 through 2014, until colon cancer forced him to give up chess volunteering.
The Portland Chess Club Board of Directors renamed the Portland New Year’s Open (formerly the Gresham Open) as the Neil Dale Memorial Open. The club’s Web site states, “Neil started and ran the Gresham Open many times. Neil volunteered countless hours to chess in the Portland area, including running hundreds of tournaments over many decades. We hope everyone can stop by to pay their respects and share some memories of Neil before the start of round 1.” The tournament is January 7-8, 2017 and will be held at the Portland Chess Club, 8205 SW 24th Ave, Portland, OR 97219. The Neil Dale Memorial Open will be an annual event at the beginning of each year.
Starting in 2009, Neil volunteered as a chess teacher at Fisher’s Landing Elementary School in Vancouver, WA. Neil and his wife of 19 years (Lynn Fromme) lived about 20 minutes from Fisher’s Landing. Neil emailed in March of 2011, “My grandson Justin (Rasa's kid) goes to school there. While Lynn & I were on a cruise in February, they had a tournament & he tied for 1st.” In addition to his wife Lynn and grandson Justin, Neil is also survived by Justin’s younger sister Alyssa, both children of his daughter Rasa Keanini (husband Milton); and by his daughter Daina Hardisty (husband Dan; children Laila and Magnus) from Gresham, OR, daughter Mara Dale (husband Hugh Sakols) from Yosemite National Park, CA, and son Andrew Dale (wife Grace; children Kris and Katryna) from Santa Clara, CA. Daina, Mara, and Rasa’s mother Liga Dale née Cielena, Neil’s second wife, also survives Neil. Neil's first wife Ingaborg Dale née Weiss and Neil's grandson Brandon are deceased. Neil’s sister Sibilla Hershey and her husband Gerry (Davis, CA), and their sons John and Peter, also survive Neil.
In addition to travel (as noted above, mostly by cruise ship), Neil enjoyed cross-country skiing, crossword puzzles, reading, and writing. He composed detailed travelogues and mailed those to friends.
Neil was born in Latvia and immigrated with his parents, Viktors and Karola, and sister to the U.S. in 1951. In 1954, Neil joined the U.S. Army and became a U.S. citizen. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of San Francisco, before moving to Oregon in 1970 to teach at Mt. Hood Community College.
After learning of Neil’s passing, Original Life Master Carl Haessler posted on Facebook:
Neil was a great man and a lifelong chess friend. He will be remembered as a true legend of Oregon chess. Player, Promoter, Organizer and Director ... he did it all, and did so for over 40 years. As a Chief TD his kind but firm demeanor was equally effective at the State Championship and at numerous local scholastic events.
Northwest Chess magazine plans a tribute to Neil Dale in its next issue. For that issue, I (Alexey Root) contributed:
I dedicated my book Science, Math, Checkmate: 32 Chess Activities for Inquiry and Problem Solving to Neil Dale, writing “For Kornelijs (Neil) Dale, respected tournament director, valued friend.” I first played in a tournament directed by Neil Dale in 1977, when I was 12 years old. His daughter Mara was the same age as me and we became (and remain) best friends. After that 1977 NW Junior tournament, I always stayed at Neil's home when playing in Portland-area tournaments. After I moved away from the Pacific NW in 1987, Neil kept in touch by letters and remembered my children's birthdays with gifts. Whenever I was in the Portland area, I enjoyed his hospitality, which often included him making Latvian pancakes. He was a gracious host as a tournament director and organizer, just as he was to guests in his home.
Categories
Archives
- December 2024 (16)
- November 2024 (18)
- October 2024 (35)
- September 2024 (23)
- August 2024 (27)
- July 2024 (44)
- June 2024 (27)
- May 2024 (32)
- April 2024 (51)
- March 2024 (34)
- February 2024 (25)
- January 2024 (26)
- December 2023 (29)
- November 2023 (26)
- October 2023 (37)
- September 2023 (27)
- August 2023 (37)
- July 2023 (47)
- June 2023 (33)
- May 2023 (37)
- April 2023 (45)
- March 2023 (37)
- February 2023 (28)
- January 2023 (31)
- December 2022 (23)
- November 2022 (32)
- October 2022 (31)
- September 2022 (19)
- August 2022 (39)
- July 2022 (32)
- June 2022 (35)
- May 2022 (21)
- April 2022 (31)
- March 2022 (33)
- February 2022 (21)
- January 2022 (27)
- December 2021 (36)
- November 2021 (34)
- October 2021 (25)
- September 2021 (25)
- August 2021 (41)
- July 2021 (36)
- June 2021 (29)
- May 2021 (29)
- April 2021 (31)
- March 2021 (33)
- February 2021 (28)
- January 2021 (29)
- December 2020 (38)
- November 2020 (40)
- October 2020 (41)
- September 2020 (35)
- August 2020 (38)
- July 2020 (36)
- June 2020 (46)
- May 2020 (42)
- April 2020 (37)
- March 2020 (60)
- February 2020 (38)
- January 2020 (45)
- December 2019 (35)
- November 2019 (35)
- October 2019 (42)
- September 2019 (45)
- August 2019 (56)
- July 2019 (44)
- June 2019 (35)
- May 2019 (40)
- April 2019 (48)
- March 2019 (61)
- February 2019 (39)
- January 2019 (30)
- December 2018 (29)
- November 2018 (51)
- October 2018 (45)
- September 2018 (29)
- August 2018 (49)
- July 2018 (35)
- June 2018 (31)
- May 2018 (39)
- April 2018 (31)
- March 2018 (26)
- February 2018 (33)
- January 2018 (30)
- December 2017 (26)
- November 2017 (24)
- October 2017 (30)
- September 2017 (30)
- August 2017 (31)
- July 2017 (28)
- June 2017 (32)
- May 2017 (26)
- April 2017 (37)
- March 2017 (28)
- February 2017 (30)
- January 2017 (27)
- December 2016 (29)
- November 2016 (24)
- October 2016 (32)
- September 2016 (31)
- August 2016 (27)
- July 2016 (24)
- June 2016 (26)
- May 2016 (19)
- April 2016 (30)
- March 2016 (36)
- February 2016 (28)
- January 2016 (32)
- December 2015 (26)
- November 2015 (23)
- October 2015 (16)
- September 2015 (28)
- August 2015 (28)
- July 2015 (6)
- June 2015 (1)
- May 2015 (2)
- April 2015 (1)
- February 2015 (3)
- January 2015 (1)
- December 2014 (1)
- July 2010 (1)
- October 1991 (1)
- August 1989 (1)
- January 1988 (1)
- December 1983 (1)