Chess community stalwart killed in Queens crash
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 30year-old ran a red light and crashed into him.
Most of the older generations 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.