Search for first points continues for C team

Shrewsbury C will hope the fourth time is the charm as they continue to search for their first Shropshire Chess League division three points of the season.

Ben Howells’ side will host Newport Knights on Wednesday (November 5) looking to end a run of three straight defeats since the side’s reformation for this season, writes Peter Kitchen.

That run included two defeats in the space of 24 hours against two of the division’s strongest sides in Newport B and Darwinian Knights C – a quirk of the fixture list that saw the rearranged Darwinian fixture placed in the same week as an existing fixture.

But despite the defeats – 3.5-0.5 away to last season’s title challengers Newport and a 4-0 home reverse versus Darwinian – the team competed admirably and there is a definite feeling that positive results are not too far away.

While the C team itself is full of inexperienced players gaining their first taste of competitive chess, the same could be said of this week’s opponents – Newport Knights have won one and lost one of their two games so far and have used players relatively new to the local league scene.

Newport Chess Club has entered three standalone junior teams this season, and there is a chance some juniors may be included in the visitors’ ranks on Wednesday.

The trip to face Newport B formed part of a double header at Newport Royal British Legion as the club’s A team faced Newport A at the same time in the same room.

The Cs didn’t fare much better than their more senior colleagues, but did at least avoid a whitewash thanks to Howells drawing with Nico Picchio on board two.

Orlando Bell and Tom Osenton made their competitive over-the-board debuts for the club – Bell was beaten by Anthony Hooper on board three and Osenton lost to Pranav Attada on bottom board. Nick Nuthall was defeated by Malcolm Price on top board.

The following night saw an experienced Darwinian Knights team roll into Cromwell’s, including former top flight player John Bashall – a key component of successful Telepost A sides over the years – on board one.

But despite the scoreline, the match was fiercely contested. Nuthall lost with the white pieces against Paul Billington on board two, but Richard Beard gave Martin Ayres a fright on board four before eventually succumbing to defeat.

Howells was defeated by Steve Wilson on board three, before Tom Maiden bowed to the inevitable against Bashall on top board having lost material early in the game.

Encouragingly, the players themselves remain upbeat about their upward trajectory.

Maiden said: “Everyone played well in the Darwinian game. It was 0-4 in the end, but that doesn’t I think fairly reflect the burgeoning talent in our new members. Fine margins in chess as we all know.”

That positivity is being backed by support from players in the club’s other teams, with first team players making themselves available to go over games with the C team players and offering encouragement on match nights.

First team player Mark Smith said: “I’m sure the results will start to come, but the most important thing is that our club is buzzing right now and everyone is having a good time.”

Full scores (Shrewsbury colours in brackets):

Newport B 3.5-0.5 Shrewsbury C

1.Malcolm Price 1-0 Nick Nuthall (w)

2.Nico Picchio 0.5-0.5 Dafydd Howells (b)

3.Anthony Hooper 1-0 Orlando Bell (w)

4.Pranav Attada 1-0 Tom Osenton (b)

Shrewsbury C 0-4 Darwinian Knights C

1.Tom Maiden (b) 0-1 John Bashall

2.Nick Nuthall (w) 0-1 Paul Billington

3.Dafydd Howells (b) 0-1 Steve Wilson

4.Richard Beard (w) 0-1 Martin Ayres