Sad news - Iowa chess icon Roger Gotschall has passed away. Roger had battled some health issues over recent years but had still stayed very active as a player, organizer and coach. He was admitted to the hospital a few days ago with issues related to a heart valve and passed away last night.
For well over 40 years, Roger has been a giant in nearly all aspects of Iowa chess. He was the primary founder and organizer of perhaps the state’s most active club, the Ames Chess Club, and he was a very active organizer and senior tournament director. The Ames Chess Festival was for many years the top-drawing event in the state, and its winners were a veritable ‘who’s who’ of Iowa and Midwest chess. Roger was also very involved with scholastic chess, and his students from Ames were regular winners of state championships and competed successfully in national events.
Within the Iowa State Chess Association, he held basically every conceivable position from President on down and was the state’s most active tournament director for many years. Roger would travel regularly around the state to organize and direct events. Roger was also very active in the United States Chess Federation, serving on numerous committees and as a Delegate for probably at least 30 years.
More than that, Roger was a really great guy. There are legendary stories about Roger’s wit and love of a good time. He loved chess and all things about the game. He always made tournaments fun and deeply cared about chess players. Life in Iowa chess will not be the same without him. He leaves legendary shoes to fill - here’s to you, Roger. Rest in peace.
The following is Roger’s obituary from the Ames Tribune:
Roger Wayne Gotschall, also known as “Coach,” 77, of Ames, died at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines on Feb. 28, 2016. A gathering of friends will be from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 5, at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care, 414 Lincoln Way, in Ames. Inurnment will be at a later date in Blencoe Cemetery in Blencoe.
Roger was born Sept. 8, 1938, in Blencoe, the son of Wayne and Paula Gotschall. He graduated from Blencoe High School. Coach attended Iowa State University, graduating with a civil engineering degree. He taught land surveying at Iowa State University before he joined the U.S. Army in May 1961. He was discharged in 1964. His first assignment with the Iowa Department of Transportation was in the Council Bluffs area. He then moved to Mason City to complete Interstate 35 from Dows to the Minnesota border. He finished his career in Ames as the head estimator in the Bridge Department.
One of Roger’s passions was chess; he played and taught it at Ames Middle School and Ames High School and also in the Ames Park and Recreation summertime program. He was a senior U.S. Federation Chess Tournament director. You could also see him at the scorer table at the Iowa State men’s and women’s basketball games for more than 30 years. He was a member of Ames Moose Lodge No. 520, Ames Elks Lodge No. 1626, Ames American Legion Post No. 37, Masonic Lodge A.F &A.M, and the Shriners.
Coach will be missed by a host of friends in Ames, Clear Lake and Mason City, along with his best friend, a Boston terrier named Cypher “Cy.”
Memorials may be directed to a charity of your choice.
Coach (as most of us called Roger) had a sort of youthful enthusiasm for things. Really sorry to see him go.
BTW, the obituary really underplays his contributions to chess, but I suppose they have page limits on these sorts of things. It is notable that Roger received the US Chess Federation’s Scholastic Service award in 2015 to recognize his long-standing contributions in this area.