A chess emperor and a Wolmerian master
Dear Editor,
He was, for me, not only a Candidate Master in the sport of chess, but an emperor whose prolific intellect and mastery I first acknowledged with gratitude as a student of his in mathematics at Wolmer’s Boys’ School, where he informed, educated, and inspired gentlemen.
Robert Wheeler’s urbanity of thought, quietude of spirit, and depth of humanity were as heroic as the knights of the round table and as imposing as the king in court. Yet he never wore these attributes with aplomb, as others have done; for he was more concerned with the DNA of the mind which defined the texture of thought which, in turn, determined the quality of language.
So the character of Robert resided more in the measure of the man than his prodigious achievements in the sport of chess, the expressions of which the members of his sport, alma mater, and others were and are beneficiaries.
I applauded him in life and now give him an encore as he sleeps in the Lord’s chancery, for his death will undoubtedly give greater life to the aspirations of those who desire to become masters of the sport and themselves, and in memoriam of he who played the sport well to the end.