(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The man acknowledged to be the father of high school chess in Illinois has died.
Mike Zacate died over the weekend at his home in Palos Park. He was 83. Zacate ran the first statewide chess tournament at Evergreen Park High School in 1968.
The state took over the tournament in 1974, according to the Illinois High School Association. He was director of the tournament every year but one through 2010.
The IHSA said the event Zacate founded has grown into the largest team chess tournament in the world with about 1,500 students and 128 teams competing every year in Peoria.
"High school chess exists in a few other states, but nowhere does it match the depth and breadth of the programs in Illinois," the IHSA said in a news release.
"Today more than 180 schools play chess competitively throughout the fall and winter. That is Mike Zacate's legacy."
Zacate is survived by his son, Matthew, and daughter, Betsy, who has served as a chess official at many IHSA events.
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