Chess player dies while playing tournament

Sai was an active player after retiring from service in the Life Insurance Corporation of India and has been a regular in most of the tournaments held in the twin cities.

Chess player V.S.T. Sai who passed away while playing a FIDE-rated tournament in Hyderabad on Saturday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Veteran chess player V.S.T. Sai passed away while playing a game in the SLAN FIDE-rated tournament at Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

He was 72 and survived by his wife and two sons.

Sai was an active player after retiring from service in the Life Insurance Corporation of India and has been a regular in most of the tournaments held in the twin cities.

Sai, who was actively involved in the Hyderabad Chess Centre as an executive committee member, collapsed while playing the fifth round and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.

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Y. Sameer Kumar, former international and newly-elected general secretary of the Hyderabad Democratic Chess Association, who was involved in the last-minute efforts, expressed shock.

Fellow participant Manoj Kumar Vittapu who was playing on a nearby board said he saw the gentleman collapse and being taken away to the hospital.

“To the credit of the organisers, there was a medical team and an ambulance on call too. It was sad to see such an incident in a tournament hall,” he said.