Reprieved A team look to start new season in style

Shrewsbury A are preparing to host Oswestry A in their Shropshire Chess League division one curtain-raiser this week – after officially being reprieved from relegation.

Dan Lockett’s side have retained their place in the top flight after the division was increased from seven teams to eight. They will start their campaign on Wednesday (September 24) against a team that was also involved in the battle towards the bottom of the table last season, writes Peter Kitchen.

But it will be a new-look A team that tackles the upcoming season, with three key members of last season’s squad – Jamie Hopkins, Charles Lowick Higgie and Stephen Priestley – having either left the club or seeing their availability considerably reduced. The club is on the lookout for new faces to bolster the first team, while it is also hoped that opportunities may become available to some of the club’s raft of new players making their first ventures into competitive chess.

The first aim will surely be to steer clear of the drop zone, especially with a side in transition. Local derbies against Telepost A and fellow reprieved side Darwinian Knights A lie in wait, as do fixtures against Newport Junior A – the first junior side to reach Shropshire’s top flight – but the hope is that the As will be competitive against all their opponents.

Meanwhile, newly-promoted Shrewsbury B will start their division two campaign away to Oswestry B on October 1. The hosts finished bottom of the table last season and were reprieved through the league reorganisation, but will be eager to fare better this time around.

Captain Richard Vernon has been able to maintain most of the nucleus of the side that won division three last season, and the hope will be they can make the step up and compete.

The reborn Shrewsbury C must wait a further week for their first match after their intended opener at home to Darwinian Knights C was postponed due to a clash with the A team’s match against Oswestry A.

Instead, they will travel to Telford C on October 8, with the rearranged Darwinian match taking place on October 22.

New member Ben Howells has been appointed captain, and the team will consist of a number of the club’s new member who have joined since Christmas – many of which will be getting their first taste of over-the-board chess.

They include Richard Beard, Kate Beard, Tom Osenton and Nick Nuthall, along with more long-standing member Tom Maiden. Welcome aboard to all of the players, and enjoy the journey!

Updates on all of the club’s league matches will be posted on the Shrewsbury Chess Club Facebook page and match reports will appear on social media and this website.