Dionisio Sganzerla turned a table in a Brazilian shopping mall into a meeting place for chess players for more than two decades. His death at 96 has sparked a wave of tributes.
Known locally as “Mr. Dionisio,” Sganzerla died on September 12 in Goiânia, a three-hour drive southwest of the country’s capital, Brasilia. The local shopping mall, where he had been a familiar presence for more than 20 years, announced his death in an Instagram post.
The mall wrote: “Today the board is silent. But the memories remain of every game, of every conversation, of every smile and of every shared sweet treat.”
“Your place will always be marked in the history of Goiania Shopping and in the hearts of everyone who had the opportunity to know you,” they said in the post, which has received tens of thousands of reactions to date.
Sganzerla sat down with anyone willing to play at the mall’s food court in the Setor Bueno district. According to the mall, he visited every weekend. He would arrive wearing a tie and hat, attach his mall badge, and remain at his table from around 9 am. until late in the afternoon.
His opponents were not just experienced players, but anyone passing by, whether they were children, adults, or mall employees. He offered free lessons as well as games.
In an interview with the local publication Curta Mais in 2019, he said he had played more than 1,000 children, whom he described as his favorite opponents. People would sometimes line up for a game, he said.
He described what chess meant to him: “Chess is noble, it is culture, and it is an open door to making new friends,” he told the outlet.
Chess is noble, it is culture, and it is an open door to making new friends.
—Dionísio Sganzerla
Sganzerla was born in Italy and became a naturalized Brazilian. He had worked as a journalist and also volunteered. In 2023, he received a Certificate of Honor for Older Persons from the Legislative Assembly of Goias.
Chess eventually became a crucial part of his life after he moved to Goiania around the beginning of the century. He began setting up his board at the shopping mall in 2000, and his table gradually became a popular part of it.
The shopping center later installed a table decorated with a chessboard for him. In 2023, the space was officially named the “Cantinho do Sr. Dionísio”—Mr. Dionisio’s Corner—in recognition of the community that had formed around his games. The mall also gave him an identification badge, which he reportedly wore with pride, and at times arranged transportation from the residence where he lived.
There was another part to his routine: He had sweets in his pockets, which he handed out to opponents and passersby. The wholesome gesture was mentioned repeatedly in the mall’s tribute:
“Whoever had the privilege of sitting in front of him for a game, or just stopping to chat, probably also received one of his famous sweets. He always had one in his pocket to give. A simple gesture, but that said a lot about the caring way in which he related with people.”
In May 2025, the shopping mall marked his 95th birthday with a celebration at his chess corner. At the time, the mall said his constant and welcoming presence had made him an iconic figure and a living part of its history.
A fast-food employee at the mall told Curta Mais: “The best person in the mall. When he’s not here, everyone misses him,” Another employee described him as a “good, simple, and humble man.”
Even as his age began to limit how often he taught, Sganzerla continued to make exceptions. Jornal Opcao reported that he spent three months teaching an autistic child who eventually defeated him. Although notoriously reluctant to lose, but Sganzerla was also proud enough to boast about it.
“I have trained my successor,” he reportedly told mall employees.
Jornal Opcao reported that employees intend to preserve the chess corner associated with him.
Goiânia Shopping said it had been an honor to share more than 20 years of its history with Sganzerla, and that his place would remain part of the mall’s story and in the memories of those who knew him.
