Theo Slade, a 16-year-old young man and new Laureate Park resident, started playing at the age of six when, living in England at the time, his father, Andrew, took a chess set out of the cupboard. “It could have been Monopoly, it could have been tiddlywinks, it just happened to be chess,” said Andrew, “but within weeks of learning the game, he was beating me!” he laughed. Today, he can beat his dad “blindfolded,” without looking at the board for the whole game! “Most people wouldn’t think of chess as something people do professionally,” Theo said. “I didn’t, to start with, but as soon as I realized that I could do what I love, travel the world and meet interesting people, I made up my mind that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life!” Ten years after seeing a chess board for the first time, how has he been faring?