Fight Over Junior High Chess Game Leaves Boy In Coma; Opponent Arrested

Two teenagers got into a fight over a school chess game, then left the school without visible injuries. Within an hour, one had to have brain surgery and lapsed into a coma.

Thirteen-year-old John Slack was in critical condition Wednesday and on a respirator. His 15-year-old chess opponent was arrested on an assault charge, released and suspended from school for at least five days.

“I’d just tell him I’m really, really sorry and I didn’t mean to hurt him as bad as I did,” Joshua Simms told WOWT-TV.

The two boys had been allowed to play chess Monday for the last five minutes of their math class as a reward for good work, said Blackburn Junior High Principal Glenn Mitchell. They fought after Joshua threw a piece of cardboard and John threw it back.

“I just swung two or three times and one of the blows hit him in the head,” Joshua said.

A witness said John also may have hit his head on a table when the two fell to the floor.