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+--- Thread: Andrew Kilgariff (/thread-597.html)
Andrew Kilgariff - Dick Heathwood - 16-06-2013
It is my unfortunate duty to announce that Andrew Kilgariff, a Chess Scotland Life Member, died yesterday 15 June 2013. The following affectionate memories were written by his brother, Norman.
Chess was one of Andy’s life long loves. He taught me chess in the 1950s when he was about 10, I was about 5, though it was five years before I learned that en passant wasn’t cheating. I remember playing him ‘best out of ten’ in the mid 1960s for a tube of Smarties a game. He was winning 7-0 but game 8 was a different story.
He was about 4 pieces down, I was so busy nudging his king around I missed a cheapo and he pulled off an incredible swindle. 8-0. I hadn’t a clue that he had any chance of counterplay at all, but as he delivered ‘mate’ he leapt in the air ecstatically a few times, jumped over the couch, lapped it repeatedly chanting ‘yes ya beauty’ as I looked at the board in disbelief. It ended 10-0, but rather than take ten tubes of Smarties from me, he kindly settled for a box. Perhaps if I had been a better chess player he wouldn’t have got so fat.
We would play from time to time, sometimes not for years, and never again for Smarties, but in the 1980s I discovered the Cathcart Chess Club and chess gradings. Andy had heard about chess gradings before and had told me, we really wanted one but didn’t know where to buy them. Now I could explain it and in no time he joined RAF Leuchars Chess Club and never looked back.
Andy became very active in the TAFCA area, he liked to encourage & support chess ventures, whether shops, organisations, events or whatever. He just loved chess. We played each other Correspondence for years and OTB whenever possible. I think he set up the Cupar Chess Club when he was the Heidy at the primary school and then, years later, he moved to Perth. Deteriorating health will have curtailed his chess activity lately of course.
Chess gave him a lot of pleasure throughout his life and he gave a lot back. Now he has castled queen side.
Re: Andrew Kilgariff - Keith Rose - 16-06-2013
I am so sorry to hear this news. Andy was a thoroughly likeable bloke with a fine sense of, sometimes self-deprecating, humour; witness his email address 'andrewcabbage@...'
As TAFCA Secretary for some time I had dealings with Andy in his sometime role of team captain for Perth CC and he was always a pleasure to do business with. I also played him a couple of times and, as I recall, he beat me but he was magnanimous in victory. I haven't seen him for several years and it is sad to know that I won't see him again.
A gentleman.