Shrewsbury A clinched a second Shropshire Online Chess League first division win in a row with a tense victory over arch-rivals Telepost A – and will top the table at Christmas. Captain Francis Best was the hero, winning the deciding game on top board against former Shrewsbury player Steve Rooney to secure a 2.5-1.5 triumph. All three remaining games had finished as draws in a closely fought match. It also meant two derby wins for Shrewsbury over Telepost A in the space of 10 days following the 3-2 over-the-board victory on December 13. Shrewsbury have gone top of the online league table with two wins from three matches, despite remarkably…

Competitive over-the-board chess has been suspended until further notice due to growing fears over the spread of Covid-19 and the Omicron variant, it has been announced. The decision was taken at a virtual Shropshire Chess Association council meeting on Sunday night, and comes into force immediately. Two division two fixtures slated for this week – Telepost C v Telepost B and Telford A v Telepost D – had already been postponed after the Telepost club chose to suspend its own OTB activities in advance of Sunday’s meeting. It comes as the whole country waits to discover whether the Government will bring in tighter restrictions in the days leading up to…

Shrewsbury and Telepost’s first teams will face each other for the second derby in little more than a week – amid growing concern over the threat of Covid-19 to local over-the-board chess. Shrewsbury A and Telepost A will meet virtually on Tuesday in Shropshire Online Chess League division one. It comes after last week’s over-the-board derby, which Shrewsbury won 3-2. But Telepost has taken the decision as a club to postpone all over-the-board activities due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant. A notice on the club’s website states: “Due to the pandemic, the club is closed for over-the-board chess until further notice.” As a result it has postponed the over-the board…

Shrewsbury’s Francis Best wasn’t quite able to inspire his Shropshire & Friends 2 to online Four Nations Chess League championship glory – but did cap an excellent campaign by helping his team gain promotion to the top flight. Best drew his game against Cameron Davis on board three of the division two final against Stroud Youngies on Tuesday evening – but his teammates, including former Shrewsbury player Steve Rooney and Telepost A captain Matthew Clark, all lost in a 3.5-0.5 defeat. However, the Shropshire outfit has been promoted to division one for the first time as they finished in the top two of their group during the regular season. Best…

Shrewsbury came from behind to win the Shropshire Chess League town derby against Telepost A and move off the foot of the division one table. Shrewsbury’s first over-the-board win of the season was secured against an admittedly weakened Telepost line up thanks to victories for Francis Best, Mark Smith and Dan Lockett. Fred Bench had given Telepost an early lead with a 21-move win using the Morra Gambit against Robin Nayman on bottom board. But Smith defeated Nick Holmes on board three to equalise and Best put on probably the performance of the night to beat opposing captain Matthew Clark on board two. Lockett completed the turnaround by beating Dennis…

Both Shrewsbury and Telepost A will go into Monday’s town derby in need of points to kickstart their seasons. While Telepost have enjoyed the better of the rivalry over the past decade or so, both teams go into their latest Shropshire Chess League division one clash yet to pick up any points in over-the-board competition this season. Shrewsbury have suffered heavy defeats at Maddocks A and Oswestry A, but will be buoyed by picking up their first online win of the season over Oswestry B on Thursday. Telepost A are regular title challengers and current Shropshire online champions. But they lost their opener at home to reigning Shropshire Chess League…

Players young and old turned out to make Shrewsbury Chess Club’s first night at their new venue a success. About a dozen players attended the Nerdy Café in Mardol on Friday evening – the first time many players have met to play friendly chess in person since the start of the pandemic. They ranged from experienced pensioners Ivor Salter and Tony Purser to young brothers Gareth and Jacob Kitchen, who are eight and seven years old respectively. The club also welcomed new player Theo on the night, and hope to have more new faces when the club next meets in the new year. The club was also pleased to welcome…

The drought is finally over for Shrewsbury A who have finally picked up their first Shropshire Online Chess League division one victory – at the 14th time of asking. Shrewsbury came from behind to beat an Oswestry B side containing International Master and former British champion Paul Littlewood 2.5-1.5. Despite Francis Best being convincingly beaten by Littlewood on top board, Dan Lockett triumphed with the black pieces against Adrian Bailey on board three to level the scores. Peter Kitchen completed the turnaround, making up a 260-point online rating deficit to beat Charles Higgie in the deciding game on board two. The result hauled Shrewsbury off the foot of the embryonic…

He may not have matched the 136 moves played by newly-crowned world champion Magnus Carlsen – but Shrewsbury’s Tony Purser had his own mammoth win while playing for the club’s C team online this week. Purser finally forced resignation from opponent Shane Sweeney after a jaw-dropping 102 moves in Shrewsbury C’s Shropshire online Chess League division two derby with Telepost C. But it wasn’t enough to stop the Cs – who handed a debut to new signing Richard Vernon – from slipping to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of their rivals on Tuesday evening. It was a night of mixed fortunes for the club’s online teams – Shrewsbury B…

An International Master could be lying in wait for Shrewsbury as the club’s three online teams are all in action this week. On Tuesday Shrewsbury B and C will take part in a town derby double header against Telepost D and Telepost C respectively in Shropshire Online Chess League division two. Then on Thursday, Shrewsbury A will “host” Oswestry B in division one. Despite being the club’s nominated B team, Oswestry fielded IM Paul Littlewood on top board in their opening 2.5-1.5 win over Telepost A last month. As all players play the online games remotely at their own homes, it is possible for teams to field players with no…