Peter Kitchen writes. Shrewsbury C sprang a surprise by holding their high-flying B team compatriots to a 1.5-1.5 draw – breathing fresh life into the Shropshire Online Chess League division two title race. The B’s had looked on course to maintain their three-point lead at the top of the table after Ivor Salter eased to victory over Richard Vernon on bottom board. But despite Stephen Priestley holding a stable edge over Tony Purser in the final game on board two, a costly misjudgement allowed Purser to crash through on the kingside, securing a victory for the C team that squared the match. The result cut the B team’s lead over…

Shrewsbury’s three online teams will all be in action within the space of 24 hours – with two coming up against each other. The A’s will take on Oswestry B on Thursday in a match that is likely to decide who finishes runners up in Shropshire Online Chess League division one behind runaway leaders Oswestry A. Their opponents have fielded Inernational Master Paul Littlewood during the current campaign – including in the reverse fixture in November – although it is not yet known if he will feature this time around. Meanwhile, Shrewsbury B and Shrewsbury C were doing battle in division two on Wednesday in search of league points for…