On the Road to Oz for Opening Fixture

Shrewsbury A will travel to Oswestry A for their opening Shropshire Chess League division one fixture of the new campaign.

Francis Best’s side will make the trip up the A5 on October 27 to mark the start of the 2022/23 over-the-board season, writes Peter Kitchen.

It will be followed by the first “El Chessico” derby of the season at home to Telepost A on November 11 and another home derby against Telepost B on November 25.

The club’s first match against reigning champions Maddocks A will be on January 20, and the return derbies away to the Telepost sides will be on March 13 and 27 respectively. The 12-match campaign is due to end with a home fixture against Newport A on May 26.

Shrewsbury have retained their place in the newly-expanded top flight despite finishing bottom of the five-team division last season – and the aim will once again be to avoid relegation and hopefully upset a few of the more fancied teams along the way.

They will hope to fair better first time out than their last trip to Oswestry A early last season, which ended in a humbling 5-0 defeat.

Seven teams will compete in each of the two divisions, with Maddocks B and Telepost B promoted to division one for the current campaign and no teams being relegated. The other six division one teams will play their opening fixtures in the week starting October 10.

Although Shrewsbury will field just the sole over-the-board team for the second successive campaign, it is hoped the club can work towards bolstering the squad over the coming months with the aim of fielding a second team next season.

Home fixtures are due to be held at the Nerdy Café for this season – although our final fixture against Newport A may be played at an alternative venue.

The full fixture list is as follows:

Thursday October 27 – Oswestry A (a)

Friday November 11 – Telepost A (h)

Friday November 25 – Telepost B (h)

Tuesday December 6 – Newport A (a)

Friday January 20 – Maddocks A (h)

Friday February 3 – Maddocks B (h)

Friday March 3 – Oswestry A (h)

Monday March 13 – Telepost A (a)

Monday March 27 – Telepost B (a)

Thursday April 27 – Maddocks A (a)

Thursday May 11 – Maddocks B (a)

Friday May 26 – Newport A (h)

For more details on the league season visit www.shropshirechess.org