Tragedy of Young Chess Expert

All Things Chess
1

An 11-year-old boy Thomas Erbling was killed by his father who then killed himself during a child custody dispute in which the mother felt the boy was spending too much time playing in chess tournaments.
nj.com/union/index.ssf/2014/ … oling.html

Although this happened only a few hours ago both father and son are already listed as “deceased” on the USCF ratings website.

This is unbelievable. The kid was rated 2151 by the USCF. Only three weeks ago he played in a tournament called “Summer Madness” NJ where he lost one game to a low-rated player and dropped out. Now they are both listed as “deceased” on the USCF website even though they both died just hours ago. uschess.org/msa/MbrDtlTnmtHst.php?14095916

I am surprised nobody had posted this on the forums. This is clearly a USCF issue and a lot of players must know about it.

2

(1) The surname is Elberling.
(2) This did not happen “just a few hours ago”. It happened on September 8.
(3) As the young man’s chess prowess was mentioned in multiple stories, it’s hardly surprising that it was quickly reported to USCF.
(4) It’s not at all clear that this is a USCF issue.

Other than the foregoing, Mr. Sloan’s facts appear to be in order.

My condolences to the surviving family and friends of Thomas Elberling.

3

I’ve moved this topic from USCF Issues to All Things Chess.

4

He played in the Boston Chess Congress which I directed in January. This is really shocking.

5

The reason the USCF knew quickly about the incident was that the USCF was contacted directly for information and comment. Here’s the link: nj.com/union/index.ssf/2014/ … layer.html