Hard work the key as As grind out second consecutive win
Every point won will have to be hard earned and treasured in perhaps the toughest Shropshire Chess League division one in recent years.
That’s the view of Shrewsbury A stand-in captain Peter Kitchen after the As ground out a second consecutive 3.5-1.5 win, this time away to Oswestry A.
Stephen Priestley’s spectacular sacrificial attack to beat Peter Fisher on board five was the highlight and Olusegun Ilesanmi also won on board four as the As maintained an impressive record of not having yet lost a board.
They are one of just two teams – along with next opponents and league leaders Newport Junior A – to still have a 100 per cent record. And being among the early pacesetters is a welcome change for the A team following three seasons of struggle resulting in bottom two finishes each time.
But Kitchen acknowledged that the As had been pushed hard by both opening day opponents Telford A and Oswestry A, and said the top flight appeared stronger than ever.
“Every team seems to have got that little bit stronger this season,” he said. “You only have to look at some of the results so far to see there will be no easy games and any team is capable of beating another, and it is unlikely that any one team will run away with it.
“Every point is going to be hard earned and should be valued. We’ve had to grind out the results so far against two strong teams.
“It’s especially pleasing that we are looking so solid and difficult to beat – that’s going to be the foundation of a successful season.
“Interestingly our top order isn’t perhaps firing on all cylinders just yet, so hopefully we’ve got another gear to go up. All of the top three left the Oswestry game feeling they’d missed opportunities to perhaps push for wins, which is a positive attitude to take.”
The Shrewsbury side that travelled to Morda Village Hall showed two changes from the opening win over Telford A. Phil Zabrocki made his competitive league debut for the club on board two and Olusegun Ilesanmi came in on board four in place of unavailable duo Fred bench and regular captain Dan Lockett.
Kitchen captained the side in Lockett’s absence, while David Walton also joined the squad on the trip as a reserve.
The hosts were again without regular top board Bob Clark, while Julie van Kemenade and Fisher replaced Paul Sadler and Jake Williams on the bottom two boards.
It briefly looked like Walton may be needed as substitute after Ilesanmi mistakenly travelled to Rhydycroesau a good 15 minutes away from Morda. But after Ilesanmi belatedly arrived, it was on the bottom boards where the visitors took charge.
Ilesanmi broke the deadlock by defeating Julie van Kemenade on board four, but the remaining games all looked tense with the potential for all to go either way.
Kitchen perhaps prematurely agreed to opposing captain Adrian Bailey’s draw offer on move 21, as he enjoyed a pleasant edge but no clear way to break through having slipped 20 minutes behind on the clock.
Nigel Ferrington also shared the spoils with Rudy van Kemenade on top board after what he hoped would be a superior rook and pawn ending failed to offer the winning chances he had envisaged.
But Priestley then took centre stage with an early contender of game of the season. After a tight battle with Fisher approached the move 40 mark, Priestley sacrificed a pawn and then a rook on b6 to divert Fisher’s pieces, allowing the Shrewsbury board five to swoop in with a devastating kingside mating attack.
With the match now in the bag, Zabrocki battled on trying to breach Richard Bryant’s defences. But he let an earlier advantage slip and eventually agreed a draw in an unclear position with uneven material.
All eyes will now turn to the “home” match against Newport Junior A on November 3. The match will be played at Newport to comply with league rules, which state junior teams will play all matches at their home venue unless playing another junior team.
“It’s a big game, and the kind of game everyone wants to be involved in,” said Kitchen. “No-one is going to win or lose the league at this stage of the season, but it’s a game we are all looking forward to.
“Our summer signings from Telepost have recent experience of playing in such big games which hopefully we can lean on – but it’s best to treat this as just another league game and focus on being the best we can be on the night.”
Full scores (Shrewsbury colours in brackets):
Oswestry A 1.5-3.5 Shrewsbury A
1.Rudy van Kemenade 0.5-0.5 Nigel Ferrington (w)
2.Richard Bryant 0.5-0.5 Phil Zabrocki (b)
3.Adrian Bailey 0.5-0.5 Peter Kitchen (w)
4.Julie van Kemenade 0-1 Olusegun Ilesanmi (b)
5.Peter Fisher 0-1 Stephen Priestley (w)
Average ratings – Oswestry A: 1774 ECF; Shrewsbury A: 1894 ECF.