There was a tragic end to the 2013 Doeberl Cup, when 2 players were killed in a car accident while travelling home from the tournament. Andrew Saint and Hannibal Swartz were passengers in a van, which crashed near Benalla in Victoria, after a tire blew out. James Morris is in hospital in a serious condition with multiple injuries, as is Dimitry Partsi, who suffered back injuries. Paul Cavezza and Anthony Hain escaped the crash without serious injury.
Just hours earlier Saint had won the Doeberl Cup Major (Under 2000) after defeating Dimitry Partsi in the final round. The win was especially popular as Andrew was both a hard worker in Australian Chess and a genuinely nice guy. Originally from Adelaide, he relocated to Melbourne, and was a regular on the Melbourne chess scene. Hannibal was a relative newcomer to chess, and was playing in the Doeberl Cup Minor. Eager to learn, he went over his games with his opponent after every round.
At the time of writing this, Dimitry was conscious but had undergone back surgery, while James was responsive but still in a serious condition.
Further tributes to Andrew and Hannibal by those who knew them well are here and here.
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5 comments:
Indeed, plz update on the condition of James Morris. I hope the brain injury hasn't affected his mental acuity.
This is a really sad story and seems to have hit the Australian chess community very hard.
I'm sure that all the chess community would like to send their condolences to the families of Andrew and Hannibal and I hope that the other four passengers pull through from their injuries.
Our Condolences to the Australian Chess community, Melbourne Chess club and indeed the families of those who lost their loved ones.
We pray that the other 4 players will recover fully and continue playing the beautiful game of chess.
Tshepo Sitale (Mr.)
President - Botswana Chess Fed'
So hard for those close to those concerned,for sure; much more for those who were involved, after what followers know is an intense chess event in a players year.
Condolences, and hope for the mending of those concerned,
This is cool!
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