Beard looking sharp despite defeat at hands of juniors

Richard Beard’s maiden competitive win was not enough to stop Shrewsbury C opening 2026 with a 3-1 defeat at home to Darwinian Knights Junior.

Beard broke his duck by defeating Isaac Wilderspin on board four – but it proved only a consolation as a sharp Darwinian outfit cleaned up on the remaining boards, writes Peter Kitchen.

The result leaves the Cs sixth in the eight-team table and frustratingly cut adrift of the mid-table pack as captain Ben Howells seeks a top-half finish for his side.

The Cs – who despite being the “home” team travelled across town to play at the venue of the junior team as per league rules – made two changes to the side that drew with Darwinian Knights D in their previous fixture back in November. Orlando Bell and Howells returned to the side on the top two boards with Nick Nuthall and Kate Beard dropping out.

But the C team lost both of their blacks, with Bell beaten by Daniel Tumanyan on top board and Tom Osenton losing to Gabriel Tumanyan on board three.

Howells lost on board two to Ellis Sharp as the Cs ended the night well beaten.

But they did at least have the consolation of seeing Beard – who has played throughout the order this season and had a couple of near misses without crossing the winning line – finally bring home the full point in his fifth appearance.

Howells’ side will make a swift return to Unison Social Club for another local derby when they face top-of-the-table Darwinian Knights C on Tuesday (February 3).

The reverse fixture ended in a painful 4-0 defeat for Shrewsbury C – and they will hope to give the high-flying hosts a closer game this time around.

Full scores (Shrewsbury colours in brackets):

Shrewsbury C 1-3 Darwinian Knights Junior (played at Darwinian)

1.Orlando Bell (b) 0-1 Daniel Tumanyan

2.Dafydd Howells (w) 0-1 Ellis Sharp

3.Tom Osenton (b) 0-1 Gabriel Tumanyan

4.Richard Beard (w) 1-0 Isaac Wilderspin

Average ratings – Shrewsbury C: 1276 ECF; Darwinian Knights Junior: 1227 ECF