Valer Vasile Demian was born on December 15, 1934, in Satu Mare, a family of noble origin, directly involved in the unification of Transylvania with Romania from 1918. WWII and the subsequent communist control over Romania marked him for life. They were refugees in Aiud (1942) and later arrived in Arad, where he spent his whole life. First and foremost, his professional choices were limited. He managed to make the best out of them and became a high school math teacher. He did it with passion until his retirement.  Many bright youths from our home city (Arad) built a solid theoretical foundation before moving on to the Universities of their choice. His teaching skills were also easily translated into chess, and several of his former students became decent national level players.

My father learned the game from my grandfather, who was a simple chess fan. He took this passion for the game to the highest levels, both nationally and internationally. As a young adult, he played over the board, his best results including:

• Qualification and play in the 1967 national final where he played side by side with all Romania's great players at the time
• 3rd place and bronze medals with team Romania in the OTB 3rd Blind Chess Olympiad Weymouth 1968, a tournament where he finished 1st undefeated on board 1
• He was a strong player holding his own for about 2 decades as one of the top 2 boards in our city's best chess team Rapid Arad (Romania's 2nd division)

A person of frail health because of what he endured as a young child during WWII, he found it easier to continue playing correspondence chess. His participation in postal tournaments increased, and the results followed. A selection of his best results must include:

• Romania Correspondence Chess National Champion in 1968
• Three ICCF Coppa Latina Europe titles (1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions) with team Romania. He was team captain during the 3rd edition
• IM-ICCF title in 1975
• Winner of Romania CC Cup 4th edition (1985-1987)

He was a big supporter of ICCF, promoting it both locally, nationally, and internationally. He played exclusively by post and made many a friend around the World. Several felt closer despite the geographical distances, and they exchanged several letters and postcards during and after their games. He cherished their friendship throughout his life.