Ivona Jezierska - Chess Master

Hi Ivona (or Ms. Jezierska, as I used to say and be extremely smug that I, little old sixth grade me, could pronounce your last name correctly),

I'm not sure if you remember me. You must have had so many students over the years since I had last seen you.

Regardless of whether or not you recall me, I just wanted to say that I sure as hell remember you. If you didn't know, you were an important person in my life. I learned a lot from you; things I still think about to this day.

1) You made an impact on my life.
I have very vivid memories of playing chess and learning from you. It was something I liked quite a lot (not just for the chessmen cookies you so graciously and liberally provided during lessons). I still recall going to some house (I think it was on Hilgard Ave in Westwood) for a lesson. You showed me the windmill tactic. And... it blew my young mind. I still think about that moment and what it felt like to truly enjoy learning because you like something. I find that particularly useful these days.

2) You taught me why we lose.
My mom never fails to remind me about how I hated to lose at Chess (and in general really). It was the like something snapped inside the pit of my stomach. Putting in all that mental effort and focus only to see something too late. Cheeks immediately flushed and heart pumping outside my chest. Not a pleasant experience. However, despite my anger and frustration, I do remember how I felt going over the lost matches with you, learning from my mistakes... I felt relaxed and comforted, deep in my pit of my belly. In fact, it's a very special feeling to me. Something that I hold dear and quite honestly, reminds me of my late grandmother. In retrospect, you were (and I'm sure still are) wonderful with children and a fantastic teacher.

Anyways, I looked you up because I wanted to tell you these things and say thank you. Better late than never.

An excerpt from an email I sent.