 As a youth in Ottawa, Day came under the influence of Fedor Bohatirchuk, a strong Ukrainian International Master and doctor, who had emigrated to Canada after the Second World War.Day's progress was rapid, and he qualified through the 1966 Open Canadian Chess Championship at Kingston, to represent Canada at the 1967 Junior World Chess Championship at Jerusalem, where he qualified for the 'A' final group.The highly experienced Bohatirchuk, who had a 3-0 score against Mikhail Botvinnik (later World Champion) exerted a very strong influence on Day's playing style.