For those of us who have a chess playing child, with promise, we tend to tell them that chess is more than a game. However, for David Christian this was far from the truth. Somewhere in his life he lost focus and ended the life of another human being, in this case Michael Steward, over a chess game.We would like to think that his death had nothing to do with chess, but then again it could have everything to do with the game.
We were not there; we do not know.
What we do know is that "chess" and "manslaughter" were reported by the media in the same sentence.
After searching for David Christian on the USCF rating list, I am glad to know that he was not a member of the USCF; however, had he been - would he have been expelled from the USCF?
Hard to say in these times.
However, we would like for the general public to know that chess is a non-contact sport, although in this case it seems like David Christian did not understand the boundries of the chessboard.
Parents, let's watch what we teach our children and how we treat them before and after a chess game, we could all learn from David Christian what not to do.
I pray for the family of Michael Steward and grieve for their loss.
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Iowan sent to prison in chess-game slaying
IOWA CITY, Iowa - An Iowa City man has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison in the death of his opponent in a chess game.
David Christian was sentenced on Monday in Johnson County District Court for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Steward in October 2008.
The two men got into a fight while playing chess at Christian's home. Police say Christian forced Steward's head between his legs and squeezed until Steward died.
Christian was originally charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge last month.
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Information from: Iowa City Press-Citizen, http://www.press-citizen.com/
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