Peter makes his mark 20 years after national league debut

Peter Kitchen can still remember his first ever appearance in the Four Nations Chess League.

It was November 2005, and Peter – who had only joined Shrewsbury Chess Club four months earlier – lined up on board five for Celtic Tigers’ first ever match.

He drew with the black pieces against Graham Morris as his side lost 4.5-1.5 – but it was the start of something special for Peter’s side and an opportunity to compete regularly on the national stage for Peter.

Fast forward 20 years and Peter is still playing for Celtic Tigers as one of his side’s founding members. The club, which has players from across Britain and Europe in its ranks, has since made it all the way up from division four to the top flight and even qualified for Europe on merit a few years ago.

They celebrated their 20th anniversary of that opening foray at the recent first weekend of the new 4NCL season earlier this month – and Peter had a prominent role.

He captained the Celtic Tigers 2 team lining up in Division Three Knights – the 4NCL’s equivalent of English football’s League One – at Dudley’s Copthorne Hotel.

It was a weekend he won’t forget in a hurry – he claimed an eye-catching draw against Michael Duggan (2062 ECF) on the white side of a Sicilian Dragon on board five on the Saturday, helping his side to a 3-3 draw against a Poole Patzers side that was much stronger on paper.

Then on the Sunday he won convincingly against Merseyside-based player John Gillett (1663 ECF) on board six, again with white, as his team drew 3-3 again – this time against newly-promoted Golden Cockerels.

The weekend had special significance for Peter – not only was it marking the club’s and his own 4NCL anniversary, but it was only the second time he had featured above the 4NCL’s bottom division in his two decades playing in the league.

“I can still remember that very first game against Graham Morris all those years ago,” said Peter. “He played a King’s Indian Attack against my French Defence, I didn’t really know the opening back then and played a very outrageous …Ng4 manouevre around move eight – I just remember Graham’s eyes widening as soon as he saw the move! Luckily I got away with it and held things together for a draw.

“There was the excitement beforehand seeing who you were playing, knowing you were playing at the pinnacle of chess in this country with longer time controls and super-strong opponents – it’s still a big part of the experience today.

“In that first season I remember we were playing a team called FCA Solutions 2, and I overheard one of their players making a friendly comment to one of his teammates about our team name and trying to clip our claws – you knew then we were already making an impact.”

Since then, Peter has played parts in promotion campaigns at the top end of the table and battles to pull clear of the lower reaches. When his club went down to one team, he also had one season playing for Shropshire’s 4NCL team before returning to the Tigers fold.

But his efforts have always been confined to the bottom division until recent times.

“I’ve often been seen as the club stalwart who is good to have around in our third team, which has always played in the bottom division,” said Peter.

“When the Tigers went down to one team several years ago, I was once the reserve for a weekend in Telford. I showed up on the Saturday to see the team playing Cheddleton, one of the strongest teams in division one with players like GM Keith Arkell on board seven. But everyone showed up and I could only spectate.

“I’d grown up reading about the 4NCL top flight in Chess Monthly magazine, so it was a bit galling to get so close to playing and just miss out.

“A couple of seasons ago I got to play one round for our second team in division three, although I lost a long game to a lower rated teenager. This year we have only entered two teams, and happily I made the cut for the first weekend of the season in division three.

“Myself and another long-serving Tiger Carsten Pedersen (who plays his club chess for Hammersmith in London) only worked out over the weekend that it was the 20th anniversary of the Tigers’ first ever

4NCL appearance. To be involved in the occasion was great – to be captaining the seconds over this weekend made it that bit extra special.”

Peter’s 1.5/2 scoreline over the weekend helped the Tigers’ second string to draws in matches where they were the underdogs on both occasions.

And he has hopes of continuing to contribute at some point later in the season – and beyond.

“Things are very busy with my work at the moment, which makes it hard to commit to full weekends playing chess,” he said.

“But I can’t recommend playing in the 4NCL highly enough. It’s the ultimate test of your chess-playing ability – the longer time controls mean the games are of higher quality, and you have to be at your best to compete.

“It has improved my game no end playing in the 4NCL, and looking back at some of my earlier efforts on the databases, I can see how much I’ve improved for the experience.

“I’ve had a few offers from other teams, notably Shropshire, in recent years – but the Tigers is a team I helped to found back when I was at university in Swansea. I’ve got a real attachment to the team, and those in charge today recognise my position in the club’s history and always want me to be involved where possible.

“That dream of playing in division one is still some way off, but this recent weekend made me feel like I can belong at division three level – and if I keep working at improving my game then who knows where it might go?”

Anyone interested in playing in the national league can speak to Peter at club nights at Cromwell’s, while Shrewsbury Chess Club has for the first time this season entered Shrewsbury Pirates into the online version of the 4NCL.