One of the most universally admired and respected leaders in Georgia chess history is “Ted” Wieber, Sr. who had a great impact in only a few short years. Dan Lucas (GCA 2024 Hall of Fame Inductee) says, "Ted Wieber, Sr. provided strong leadership to the Georgia Chess Association when strong leadership was needed.”

Ted was born in New Jersey in 1952. He spent part of his childhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina before his family moved to Miami, FL. They moved back to New Jersey, and he graduated from high school in 1970. He was accepted by the Naval Academy, and graduated as a Lieutenant from there in 1974. After completing five years of active service in the Navy, Ted worked for Raytheon (a defense contractor and electronics manufacturer) in Cambridge, MA. He also served in the Naval Reserve at that time until he was discharged as a Lieutenant Commander in 1985. While working at Raytheon, Ted pursued a Master’s degree in Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Harvard Business School and graduated in 1985. He then moved to Atlanta, GA to work for Scientific Atlanta (a technological manufacturer of communications equipment) that same year.

Ted worked his way up to President of various parts of Scientific Atlanta, as well as Vice President of parts of the overall corporation, before becoming the Communicative Group President in 1987. His true talent was improving parts of the corporation that needed improvement. He retired from Scientific Atlanta in 2003. He and his wife began spending time on a farm in Ohio that his wife had inherited. The communication skills that he had learned in his occupation (both externally and internally) while making improvements would later be put to good use while on board with the Georgia Chess Association (GCA).

 

Like so many adults who have contributed to the GCA, Ted Wieber, Sr. first became involved because of his child. Steve Schneider (GCA 2024 Hall of Fame Inductee) recalls that the first tournament for Ted Wieber, Jr. was the K-3 in March 1996. When Ted saw that his son loved the game, he encouraged him to play. Like other parents, Ted also observed that the side effects from chess were good for his son.

Starting with the August/September 2000 issue of Georgia Chess, Ted began contributing articles regarding scholastic chess. Some issues might not have an article from him, but others might have two or three articles in the same issue. In the April/May 2001 issue, Ted also began contributing regular lists of Georgia’s top scholastic players by grade level and rating.

 In 2000, Ted became a Board member for the Emory Chess Association, Inc., along with Castle Chess founder, David Woolf. Woolf recalls that he would bounce questions off of Ted and that Ted was a great advisor for him. Ted always had time to help David plan and prepare for the many facets of organizing Castle Chess. Ted continued to serve on that Board through 2007.

Also in 2000, Ted began organizing and directing the Georgia High School Team Championship (unrated). Championship Chess founder, Steve Schneider, had previously separated the High School Team Championship tournament from the Georgia K-12 Team Championships. Former USCF Policy Board member and former GCA President, Fun Fong, stated that students unwilling or unable to compete in athletic team sports would be patriotically overjoyed to represent their school in a different capacity. Wieber explained to me that some High School students might not want to play in a team competition in the presence of much younger students, but they would become enthusiastic to compete in a closed High School only team event. Ted understood that the social perspective of young people existed in chess, too.

Schneider had previously written to High Schools that were interested or had played in prior years, and then delegated details and responsibilities by region to his employees across the state. When Wieber took over, the tournament might have only 8 to 11 teams playing. Ted looked online and obtained a list of all the High Schools in the state by county and contacted each one by telephone. Before the pandemic struck in 2020, this event would consistently host from 25-28 teams a year – a staggering increase from the years before he took over the task.

The December 2000/January 2001 issue of Georgia Chess shows that 2^nd Vice President Scott Parker (GCA 2024 Hall of Fame Inductee) was compelled to resign because of time constraints from his occupation. Steve Schneider talked Ted into filling the remainder of Scott’s unexpired term. Wieber was then elected unopposed to continue as 2^nd Vice President in May 2001.

The November/December 2002 issue of Georgia Chess shows Ted as Webmaster for the GCA. In 2003 Ted Wieber, Sr., won the Chess Journalists of America (CJA) Award for Best State Website for the GCA (the CJA’s first year for this award). The November/December 2003 issue of Georgia Chess cites Ted’s award in addition to showing Bill Noyes becoming the new Webmaster.

 

Ted started the chess club for the Greater Atlanta Christian School (GACS) – where his son attended. Since Ted did not play, he did not serve as Coach, but he served with his true talent – he organized. The school used brochures to help recruit students, and Ted made sure that the brochures included chess as an activity. The GACS hosted three rated scholastic tournaments in 2002 with 50 players attending in September, 85 in October, and 184 attending in December!

 

In May 2003, Ted Wieber, Sr. was elected GCA President. He discontinued his articles regarding Georgia scholastic chess, but he began having a President’s column in almost every issue. He wrote a eulogy for the untimely passing of Gary Southerland in the November/December 2005 issue of Georgia Chess.

Longtime GCA Treasurer, Rich Bellezza (GCA 2025 Distinguished Service Award), was diagnosed in early 1999 with polycythemia vera (a rare blood cancer). He continued as Treasurer despite his illness, but its complications resulted in his untimely death at age 53 in October of 2002 from a heart attack. GCA President Thad Rogers (GCA 2024 Hall of Fame Inductee) then volunteered to take over the additional duties of Treasurer for the remainder of Bellezza’s unexpired term.

 

The May/June 2003 issue of Georgia Chess shows that Scott Parker came back to the GCA Board to complete Bellezza’s unexpired term in early 2003. The July/August 2003 issue of Georgia Chess cites from the May 2003 GCA Annual Business Meeting, “Scott Parker was recently appointed Treasurer. For the last couple of years, records haven’t been complete. Ten years ago, our balance was $800, Today we are anywhere from $16,000 to $21,000. We need better accounting now that we have money.”

Shortly after taking office as President, Ted determined to resolve the problems with the GCA Treasury. Its records had become unorganized and confused. The financial records for the GCA had become intertwined with the records of the Atlanta Chess Center (ACC). Politics exist in chess, and Ted faced considerable opposition in his quest to bring order from chaos. However, Wieber stuck to his principles and pursued his decision unwavering. Wieber went to the ACC and brought home a big box of financial records. He spent all of one weekend separating the records of the GCA and ACC and bringing them to an ordered and updated resolution. Although Ted Wieber, Sr., made many contributions to Georgia chess, this one event demonstrates why he stands out from so many others.

In the September/October 2003 issue of Georgia Chess, Ted stated, “The GCA treasury stands at roughly $19,000 today with all significant transactions settled.”

Fun Fong and Scott Parker both recall that the GCA financial records were in a poor state when Wieber brought them to orderly clarification.

Scott Parker was then elected Treasurer in May 2004 and served in that capacity until he became President in May 2006. With Wieber, Parker, and non-Board member Woolf (manning the Quicken software) on watch, the GCA Treasury stayed in good order during Wieber’s term as President.

 

Ted successfully sought to increase the number of GCA tournaments. In 2004, the GCA added the Georgia Senior Open, an event that has continued to this day.

The year 2004 also marked the beginning for the Georgia Class Championships, another event that continues to this day.

Starting in 2004, Ted organized and directed the Georgia State Collegiate Team Championship (unrated) until the last was held in 2016. The first year was rated and directed by Gary Southerland. This event was held simultaneously with the Georgia High School Team Championship, much to the delight of the high school players, who preferred the company of collegiates over very young children.

 

When Ted took the job as GCA President, he stated that he would only serve for one term, and he stepped down in May 2006.

Scott Parker wrote in the July/August 2006 issue of Georgia Chess: “Also leaving us is Ted Wieber, who three years ago moved up from vice-president to president. A former corporate vice-president and Communications Group president for Scientific-Atlanta, Ted immediately brought his financial expertise and experience as a business executive to bear. In addition to the professionalism which Ted brought to our organization, he designed our award-winning web site, and lent his hand in virtually every area of our operations. I am particularly mindful of how large are the shoes he has left to fill, as I am the one charged with doing so.”

Ted continued to organize and direct the Georgia High School Team Championship until its last year in 2024. Steve Schneider stated that Ted told him that because of his age and illness in his family, he simply no longer had the energy to run the event.

Ted Wieber, Sr. contributed articles to Georgia Chess magazine. He contributed as one of the Board members for the Emory Chess Association, which helped David Woolf found Castle Chess. Ted won a CJA award as GCA Webmaster. He organized the chess club at his son’s school. He put more time and effort into organizing the Georgia High School Team Championship with dramatic results. He organized and started the Georgia Collegiate Team Championship. He served on the GCA Board for roughly five and a half years. As President, he brought structure and order to the GCA’s disorganized financial records. Wieber organized both the first Georgia Senior Open and the first Georgia Class Championships – tournaments that continue to this day.

 Ted Wieber Sr. has contributed significant achievements in the areas of promotion, journalism, organization, service, and leadership.  He has bettered chess in the State of Georgia.

 

Sources:

Georgia Chess magazine;

Ted Wieber, Sr., interview;

Dan Lucas, interview;

David Woolf, interview;

Fun Fong, interview;

Steve Schneider, interview;

Scott Parker, interview;

www.georgiachess.org website;

https://chessjournalism.org/ website;

www.uschess.org website.