Pirates set sail on 4NCL adventure
Shrewsbury Chess Club will enter a team in the national online league for the first time, it has been revealed.
Shrewsbury Pirates has been registered to play in the 12th season of 4NCL Online, which is due to get under way on Tuesday (September 9). The team will be captained by Olusegun Ilesanmi – who has already spoken of his excitement at the club’s new venture – and will play matches against teams from across the country every other Tuesday evening, writes Peter Kitchen.
Club officials made the move to ensure it could offer competitive chess to all members after Shropshire Chess Association took the decision during last season to wind down all local online leagues.
A small number of the club’s players only play online chess, while others enjoy the opportunity to play online – something officials felt the club had to offer.
The news has already been greeted with excitement among club members, with new online-only branding being developed and the Pirates theme being enthusiastically received.
Team captain Ilesanmi said: “This is about more than just competition – it is about building our community in a new and modern way.
“The Shrewsbury Pirates online team allows us to bring people together, develop new skills and have a lot of fun.
“I am proud to captain this team and can’t wait to see what we can achieve together this season.”
In recent years Shrewsbury A were the final champions of the now-defunct Shropshire Online Chess League division one, while Shrewsbury’s second team won the final division two title last season.
Club secretary Peter Kitchen said: “We want to cater for all of our members and make sure everyone has a chance to play chess competitively.
“We supported the local online leagues during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and as a club enjoyed some not insubstantial success, and while it is a shame that those leagues will no longer run it is important we give these opportunities to our players.
“Although we’re at the heart of a landlocked county, the Pirates theme is something that has definitely captured the imagination among our members! Let’s hope they’ll be plundering plenty of points over the course of the season and hopefully bring home the bounty.”
Allocations for the 4NCL divisions are due to be made imminently, and as a new team the club expects to be placed in the bottom division. Last season the league had five divisions, while many of the club’s members played across several divisions for Shropshire & Friends teams.