Mark Diesen 1957 - 2008

[W T Harvey]

DIESEN, MARK CARL - age 51 of Conroe, Texas native of Buffalo New
York, passed away suddenly December 9, 2008 in Conroe, Texas. He was a
graduate of the University of Tennessee with a degree in Chemical
Engineering. He worked as a reservoir engineer for Shell Oil, Pennzoil
and Noble Energy. Mark was a World Junior Chess Champion in 1976, the
US Junior Co-Champion, the Louisiana State Champion in 1986, 1987,
1988, Texas State Champion, Southwestern Open Champion, and an active
chess coach in Houston, Texas and online. He is survived by his wife,
Melinda Diesen of Conroe, Texas; daughters and sons-in-law, Gina and
Travis Perkins of Knoxville, Amy and Daniel Smith of Houston, TX, and
Sarah Diesen of Conroe, TX; mother, Marjorie Diesen; sister and
brother-in-law, Laura and J.C Butler all of Bristow, VA; father-in-law
and mother-in-law, Paul and Joyce McGlothin of Knoxville; brother-in-
law and sister-in-law, Paul and Meredith Averill-McGlothin of
Ossining, NY; several nieces and nephews. Funeral service will be 1:00
P.M. Saturday at The Episcopal Church of the Ascension with Rev. Dr.
Howard J. Hess officiating. Interment to follow at Highland Memorial
Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the U.S. Chess
Trust, PO Box 838, Wallkill, NY 12589, 800-388-5464.

Here is a small collections of critical positions from his games:
http://www.wtharvey.com/dies.html

[taylor....@comcast.net]

My condolences; this is obviously a sadly premature passing, at just
age 51. May I ask, did Diesen choose not to pursue a career in
international chess, despite winning the World Junior Championship?
Most of those who won that title around that time — for example Karpov
(1969), Beliavsky (1973), Miles (1974), Yusupov (1977), Dolmatov
(1978), Seirawan (1979), and Kasparov (1980) — made a major mark in
international competition, but I don't recall Diesen being among them.
Did he try the international arena, or decide not to for economic or
other reasons?