Andy Southall

[Keith Arkell]

I played Andy in a match for Solihull against his Warley-Quinborne team, about a year ago.

It was my final game in the Birmingham League, and I think Solihull clinched the title that evening.

Andy was his usual amicable self, and began proceedings by buying me a pint.

[LawrenceCooper]

The only interaction I ever had with Andy was limited to say the least, I called him to see if he might be able to play a match in Birmingham and he simply said 'no' and slammed the phone down.

I didn't realise that phones could still be slammed down in this day and age!

I always found him good company, as Keith mentions he would often buy a drink before the game and his attacking style did cause me a few problems, our overall score being +6 = 10 -3 in my favour but with him winning the last one in 2019.

[David Cooper]

RIP from a former Warley Quinborne club mate, notably from the Birmingham League 2000-01 season when WQ won the title and Andy's contribution was P12 W8 D4. This was not that long after he made it to a peak grade of 202 and would cheerfully look at the Midland Open players' chart before the first round and comment “looks as if all the stars are out this week – Arkell, Hebden, Baker, Southall…” This was in marked contrast with never keeping his games. Having mentioned casually that he had beaten Gary Lane IM in the Paignton Open, he added to our surprise that he'd thrown the scoresheet away.
One of the wild openings he championed was the ….Nbd7 line in the Benoni after W has played e4/f4/Bb5+, when the e4-e5 pawn push at first sight appears to win a piece. It never deterred Andy from heading into unclear …Nh5/Qh4+ variations against 200+ opposition, and holding his own.
A truly gifted amateur, very much one of the “old school club” type.