Howells happy as C team bounce back with “incredible” win
Shrewsbury C captain Ben Howells has spoken of his pride in his team after they claimed a statement win over a highly-fancied Newport B side.
Howells described his players’ performance in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory as “incredible” as they ended the night unbeaten over the four boards, writes Peter Kitchen.
Chris Warrilow and David Walton both made kingside attacks work to claim the all-important victories as Howells’ side got their Shropshire Chess League division three belatedly up and running following their opening 3-1 loss against clubmates Shrewsbury D.
Howells was the only survivor from that defeat – and his decision to make three changes bore fruit as Ian Davies and Walton proved a strong pairing on the top two boards, which the skipper said was pivotal to the side’s success.
Davies, Walton and Warrilow replaced Tom Maiden, Kate Beard and Lee Holyoake for the match against Newport B, who have been perennial challengers at the top of the division since surprisingly volunteering for relegation from division two a couple of seasons ago.
The visitors made two changes from their opening 4-0 win over Newport Rooks, with Malcolm Price moving up two boards to board two and Dave Lovegrove and Peter Reeve coming in on boards three and four in place of Tony Hooper and Adam Paszek.
After Howells drew a tight game with Lovegrove on board three, the hosts capitalised by winning both of their whites. Warrilow defeated Reeve on board four and Walton overcame Price on board two, both breaking through on the kingside to corner exposed monarchs.
Davies found himself in difficulties against Colin Parker on top board after he played a Budapest Gambit but saw things take a turn for the worse out of the opening. But he managed to hold a difficult position despite being a pawn down for much of the night to ensure the Cs ended the night unbeaten and feeling buoyant ahead of a trip to a Newport Rooks side struggling at the foot of the table.
“As a whole we played an incredible match as we finished unbeaten on the night on all four boards,” said Howells. “It was amazing to have the ability to strengthen our team with B team level players in Dave and Ian, whose impact was heavily recognised.
“It certainly was a tough test, but I’m very pleased with the result. It’s great to get into winning ways at our second fixture of the season – and I’m confident we can do it again against Newport Rooks.”
Full scores (Shrewsbury colours in brackets):
Shrewsbury C 3-1 Newport B
1.Ian Davies (b) 0.5-0.5 Colin Parker
2.David Walton (w) 1-0 Malcolm Price
3.Dafydd Howells (b) 0.5-0.5 Dave Lovegrove
4.Chris Warrilow (w) 1-0 Peter Reeve
Average ratings – Shrewsbury C: 1452 ECF; Newport B: 1442 ECF.
The Cs will travel to Newport Rooks on Tuesday (October 20) – a night that will also see Shrewsbury D and Shrewsbury Pirates in action.