Brian had a long-lasting interest in chess, beginning in his youth and returning, off and on, throughout the rest of his life. His interest was rekindled with the development of the first chess computers, prompting him to polish his old skills. Always a casual player, he reached a high level of play. He took the most pleasure in passing on his passion to his grand-children.

As one of his grandsons, I fondly recall the early days and the pride I would take when I won (or he let me win!) a game. Later, I remember the delight he took in tricking me with weird openings like the Grob, and then later still our evenly-matched tournaments in which long games would often be decided (one way or the other) by one of Brian's trademark fearless attacks. Even when I started to get the upper hand, Brian maintained the psychological advantage by declaring himself hopelessly out of practice before playing as strong a game as ever. He was a great teacher, and a merciless opponent!