Growing up, no one in our family knew how to play chess except Pierce. He taught the game to me when he was home on leave from the Navy when I was 8 years old. I have played the game all my life and taught it to all 4 of my sons. Throughout the years I have gotten in many arguments with other players about how I set the board up, and I have always remembered the phrase that Pierce taught me as a child, "White Queen on White and to the Right". It turns out that I finally learned from the internet that he had missed part of the phrase. When he learned it, it was supposed to be "White Queen on White and [White Corner] to the Right". All my life I have set the board up 90 degrees from where it should have been. When I finally told him about it, he didn't get angry or upset, we both just got a good laugh over it.
Most of what Pierce knew, he taught himself and freely shared it with family and friends. He had a thirst for knowledge and constantly encouraged those around him to better themselves and always take the high road in life.
