Tributes
To submit a tribute, please submit with the form at the bottom of this page or
email
td@marshallchessclub.org.
Please put "Harding Tribute" as the subject line if you choose to submit via email.
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Greg Keener2023-11-20
The New York Chess community has lost an important figure with the passing of Andre Harding. He was a talented player, a chess coach and teacher, who had an enormous impact on many students who he worked with over the years.
He was also a hard working and excellent Arbiter who I looked up to and admired for his accomplishments as a tournament director. As a fellow tournament director, Andre had a huge impact on me. He was endlessly magnanimous towards me and giving of his time and knowledge.
He taught me everything that I know about DGT's, Swiss Manager, and how to run complex norm events. He also absorbed dozens of frustrated text messages from me at odd hours when I struggled to understand why a DGT board wasn't working. When I was stressed and frustrated, he not only offered help but he did it with a sense of humor that gave me comfort. His answers to my questions were always clever and came with a familiar smile so big I could feel its warmth through our phone conversations.
His passing comes as a shock. At the moment, I am unable to fathom that if I text him, he won't respond. His efforts resulted in countless rating points gained, prizes won, norms earned and titles achieved. His impact on the American Chess Community is immeasurable and his absence will be felt by many for a long time.
Greg Keener
Taghian Taghian2023-11-20
Rest in peace Andre , we will miss you .
Tom Malloy2023-11-20
I am deeply saddened and shocked. I will miss Andre very much. May he rest in peace. My condolences to his family and all his many friends.
Rooney Simonaitis2023-11-20
This saddens me . Didn't he just post that he left the hospital just a couple of days ago ? He was a good man,and a nice guy. My condolences go out to his family and friends.
Anatoly Ostrovsky2023-11-20
Andre was one of nicest and kindest persons in NYC chess circle. We were working together (with also late Nick Conticello) as Assistant Managers at Marshall in 2005-06. We played many games at Marshall and alongside in one team at Amateur East Team in Parsipanny. Recently Andre worked on his International Arbiter Title and got it this year. Usually I helped him to collect boards / sets and clean the tournament hall after NYC Norm Tournaments in Midtown.
Andre always was very friendly and nice. RIP. You will be missed.
Evan Rabin2023-11-20
I am devastated to hear of the passing of a long-term friend Andre Harding, who I met when he was one of the managers of the Marshall Chess Club in the early 2000s.
Over the years, we frequently analyzed chess together, socialized at gatherings and roomed together at a few out-of-state tournaments. He was also a great colleague as he directed some of my tournaments and taught in one of our school programs.
When he started his freelance copywriting business, he started coming to some of the networking groups I am part of.
On Friday, I was so delighted to hear that Andre was discharged from hospital and was doing relatively well. Then I was shocked a night later when I got a call from a mutual friend that he passed away.
May Andre rest in peace and be a blessing for us all for years to come.
Anatoly Ostrovsky2023-11-20
Andre was one of nicest and kindest persons in NYC chess circle. We were working together (with also late Nick Conticello) as Assistant Managers at Marshall in 2005-06. We played many games at Marshall and alongside in one team at Amateur East Team in Parsipanny. Recently Andre worked on his International Arbiter Title and got it this year. Usually I helped him to collect boards / sets and clean the tournament hall after NYC Norm Tournaments in Midtown.
Andre always was very friendly and nice. RIP. You will be missed.
Robert Garcia2023-11-20
Gone all too soon. Rest in peace, my friend.
Jay bonin2023-11-20
I am very saddened about the passing of Andre Harding. I was looking forward to reuniting with him to celebrate our respective comebacks from health issues. And unfortunately it will not happen. I remember when he started out at the marshall back in 2002 and how enthusiastic he was.and he worked for bill goichberg and the cca and you have to be the best to work for him. A bright light has flickered out. Rip
Brian Karen2023-11-20
Andre had a passion for chess and promoted the game as a player, coach and Director. I had the pleasure of knowing him for many years and cannot recall anyone having a bad word to say about him. Andre Harding was one of those people who lived to help others. Andre wrote book reviews and other instructive chess materials on his blog at
https://chess-essentials.com
RIP Andre Harding. Gone too soon - you will be missed.
Nick F. Panico III2023-11-21
Like many I am extremely saddened to hear about the passing of Andre.
I met Andre as an opponent before he became a manager at the club in 2002. He was still a teenager at the time. To me it was clear he loved chess and back then we use to go over games, over the board, in the skittles room. It seems like nowadays that interaction is gone since everyone turns on their phones right away to see what Stockfish has to say. As a society it seems that in some ways we are losing opportunities to interact with one another. Andre was the opposite. He was someone who loved to interact with people and would go the extra mile ensure that. Andre achieved this be being upbeat, polite, respectful and hardworking.
When we played he was always enthusiastic and pleasant no matter the result. He would think about a position before moving the pieces around when going over a game. As a science educator, to me that’s a great sign of someone who wants to learn with the ability to develop leadership qualities.
I haven’t seen Andre in over a decade. I stopped playing in 2015 and I don’t think he was active at the club the last few years I was playing there around 2013-2015.
I knew he was active in the chess community but wasn’t aware of his great success as a director and a coach. However, I was not surprised at all to learn how loved he was in the chess community because of the qualities I saw in him when he was a teenager and young adult.
I was always hoping to reunite with Andre but now that opportunity is lost. What isn’t lost though is that I had the privilege to see the materials and qualities of someone who would go on to become a great ambassador for the game of chess!
It’s with those memories of how I will remember Andre Harding.
Maxim Dlugy2023-11-21
I am very saddened by the passing of Andre. He was a sweet, hard-working, responsible, reliable person who always did more than he promised.
I met him about years ago, when he suddenly appeared to play in one of Chess Max Academy Quads in our first location.
As he was one of the only adults in the Quads, he always had a kind word for his opponents and they all respected him.
A few years later, when I held GM norm events at my academy, he served as the assistant to the International Arbiter to qualify for his norms. Even though he didn’t have to, he stayed till the end of every round to make sure everything goes smoothly. During a second event, he practically saved the tournament by calling me around 10pm and telling me that I am in need of one more foreign players according to new regulations.
I managed to secure a foreign GM thanks to his foresight and save the tournament.
He will be missed.
Lev Zilbermintz2023-11-21
Shocked to hear of Andre Harding’s passing. I played him at the Marshall Chess Club in the 1990s and early 2000s. As I recall, he was Club Manager at one time.
Andre was very nice and friendly. He affected a lot of people.
RIP.
You will ge missed by everyone who knew you.
Daniel Rohde2023-11-28
Services for Andre
Friday December 8th
Viewing from 3pm-5pm
Funeral Service immediately after
Caanan Baptist Church of Christ
132 West 116th St NY, NY
