The Chicago Chess Community's hearts poured out with the passing of one its' finest, Sevan Muradian. "He was a force of nature." To all that knew him, we are reeling with shock at the passing of a true friend. To those that did not have the pleasure of crossing paths with Sevan, you may owe this man more than you know for helping restore the chess community in the USA in a big way. However, he was much more than just a well known International Arbiter, International Organizer, Secretary of FIDE Rules Commission, Lecturer for FIDE Arbiters' Commission and advisor for FIDE Online Commission. He was our friend. Stories are being shared all over the ChicagoArea Facebook group. This obituary is about sharing some of my stories about Sevan.

It has been a year since my Grandmother passed away. She instilled in me a love of travel and the unknown and the bravery to actually do it. I find myself often quoting my grandmother these days. I think of her often when I travel. Today epic travel adventures have become much easier due to technology, the advancement of English skills and other things. In her day? She traveled old school. I remember getting my first travel tips from her like, “bring old stuff you know you want to get rid of and is near the end of its life… at some point during the trip, let go of it.”

The #5 US correspondence player at the time of his passing with a rating of 2540, Kurt Stein born July 4th, 1959 died of heart failure on Friday July 30th, 2021 immediately after moving out of his apartment.