One of the Guyana Chess Federation’s (GCF) honorable sons, Fitz Herbert Slowe, a man who exhibited fine personal qualities, was killed in a car crash in Queens, New York. At 71, Slowe leaves behind a wife, ten children, 15 grandchildren and a great grandchild. According to a CBS press report, a 30-year-old ran a red light and crashed into him.
Most of the older genera-tions of chess, including former tournament directors Christopher Shervington and Michael Sears, Rai Sharma, Edan Warsali, Loris Nathoo, and Aggrey Duncan among others, would remember Slowe and would have contested a game or two with him. Although chess was Slowe’s first love, he found time to spend with family, relatives and colleagues. Slowe’s mother, Rita, 93, said, “he was very loving to us, very kind”.
I recall many of my battles with Slowe on the chess board. He was, as my grandfather used to say, a tough nut to crack. Try as he might, Tony Hanoman, a higher ranked FIDE player than the rest of us, could not easily get past Slowe. When Slowe was facing Hanoman the game would cause quite a stir in the Chess Hall. Chances were, the game could go either way.
I recall a headline in the Chronicle newspaper which read: “Slowe moves too fast for Hanoman.” When Slowe was leaving to reside in New York he visited me at my home and we chatted about the spreading of chess to other regions in Guyana. His philosophical idea was to have chess resonating with the masses.
A number of tributes have been written about Slowe on a chess players Whatsapp group. Slowe was as kind as he was generous; an unfortunate loss for the chess community.
Chess game
White: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.Black: Hikaru Nakamura.I.e4 e5 2.Nt3 Nf’6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.Qxe4 d6 6.f4 dxe5 7.fxe5 f5 8.Qe3 Nc6 9.Nc3 Nb4 10.Kdl Be6 Il.a3 Nc6 12.Bb5 g5 13.d3 Ii6 14.h4 Rg8 15.hxg5 hxg5 16.Bd2 Qd7 17.QB 0-0-0 18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.QO c5 20.b4 c4 21.Qxa7Qc6 22.b5 Qxg2 23.Rh7 Qb7 24.Qa6 Qxa6 25.bxa6 Bc5 26.Nb5 Rd7 27.Rh6 Bd5 28.Bb4 Bxb4 29.axb4 cxd3 30.cxd3 Kb8 31.Ke2 g4 32.Ke3 g3 33.Rgl g2 34.Kf4 Re7 35.Kxf5 Rt7+ 36.Rf6 Rh7 37.e6 Re8 38.Rg6 Bxe6+ 39.Rxe6 Rh5+ 40.Kg4 Reh8 41.a7+ K.b7 42.a8=Q+ Kxa8 43.Nxc7+ Kb7 44.Na6 Rh 1 45.Nc5+ Kc7 46.Reel Rg8+ 47.K43 Rh3+ 48.Ke2 Kc6 49.Kd2 Kb5 50.K.C3 Rh4 51.Ne4 Rh3 52.Re2 Ra8 53.Nd6+ Kc6 54.Nc4 Rd8 55.Ne5+ Kb5 56.Rgxg2 Rc8+ 57.Kb3 Rcl58.Ra2 Rbl+ 59.Rgb21-
Event: 2023 CCT Final Survival, Toronto, Canada. December 12.
Type of Game: Sicilian Defence.
Result: 1-0. Black resigns.
