Shrewsbury B will hope to use a local derby as a springboard to put their difficult start to life in Shropshire Chess League division two behind them. The B team will make the short trip up Abbey Foregate on Tuesday (October 28) to face a Darwinian Knights B side who have themselves made a stuttering start to the season, writes Peter Kitchen. It has been a fruitless start for the newly promoted Bs, who are bottom of the table without a point after two defeats in their opening two matches. But they will take great heart from the way an under-strength side was so competitive last time out against Church…

Shrewsbury C will this week play two fixtures in the space of 24 hours as they look to get their fledgling Shropshire Chess League division three season up and running. Ben Howells’ team will once again join their A team colleagues on Tuesday for a double header at Newport – the c team facing Newport B and the A team up against Newport A. Then the following night, the C team will play their rearranged opening fixture against Darwinian Knights C at Cromwell’s Tap House, writes Peter Kitchen. It’s a gruelling schedule so early in the season – and may well involve some squad rotation to ease the burden on…

It’s been a little shy of six months since that unforgettable night when a season’s work came down to one game. Shrewsbury A and Newport A went into a final day shootout knowing only one side could finish outside the relegation zone. Ultimately Newport prevailed 3-2 on the final board of the season to finish when Charles Lowick Higgie lost on time to Nick Rutter – though happily for Shrewsbury they were spared from the drop due to a reorganisation of the leagues over the summer, writes Peter Kitchen. Dan Lockett’s A team will make their first return to Newport Royal British Legion Club since that night on Tuesday –…

Shrewsbury A captain Dan Lockett has hailed his team’s “competitive” performances at the start of their Shropshire Chess League division one campaign – despite seeing his charges fall to an agonising 3-2 defeat away to Telford A. Despite being without regulars Olusegun Ilesanmi and Mark Smith and being significantly outgraded by their hosts, the visitors were competitive on all five boards, writes Peter Kitchen. Ultimately Ivor Salter’s loss to Toby Neal on board four was the night’s only decisive result – and Shrewsbury had chances on all three of the top boards before all of those games finished as draws, including a tense finish in a complex ending in a…

Shrewsbury B will go into this week’s home game against Church Stretton A looking to recover from their humbling opening defeat at Oswestry B. The newly-promoted seconds had made the journey up the A5 to face one of the previous campaign’s strugglers with relatively high hopes on the back of winning the Shropshire Chess League division three title last season. But their opening encounter at the higher level brought them crashing back down to earth as they returned on the end of a 5-0 loss, writes Peter Kitchen. Stretton will roll into Cromwell’s on Wednesday (October 15) with a fair degree of confidence themselves. They drew their opening division two…

An experimental Shrewsbury Pirates side fell to a heavy defeat in their latest 4NCL Online division four outing. The Pirates were sunk by a well drilled Epsom Salties 2 outfit, who took advantage of early errors by Shrewsbury players to ease to a 4-0 win. Shrewsbury handed competitive debuts to Nick Nuthall and Tom Osenton on boards two and four, with the pair coming in for Olusegun Ilesanmi and Peter Kitchen. Without the top two boards from the win over Worcestershire Wolfpack D last time out, Tony Purser moved up to top board. Ben Howells was first to finish on board three, losing material after coming under pressure early on…

This is a quick message to our members, and those thinking of attending tonight. Due to two of our teams being away playing league matches, and a few of our regulars being away on holiday, please be aware that there will be a more limited club night at Cromwell’s tonight. The venue will of course still be open and will be welcoming as always and players can still attend if they wish.

Shrewsbury A overcame a “potentially tricky fixture” by defeating Oswestry A in their opening Shropshire Chess League division one outing, according to captain Dan Lockett. Mark Smith and Shane Greenwood were the matchwinners as Shrewsbury edged to a deserved 3-2 victory – a fine start to the new campaign after the side received a reprieve from relegation last season, writes Peter Kitchen. Lockett said his side’s two victors had made the difference in a tight match – and that the whole team had stepped up after the loss of last season’s top two boards Jamie Hopkins and Charles Lowick Higgie and the unavailability of Stephen Priestley. Smith’s triumph over Paul…

Shrewsbury Pirates tonight swept to their first ever national online victory, dispatching Worcestershire Wolfpack D 4-0. Olusegun Ilesanmi’s team bounced back from their opening day 4NCL Online division four defeat to Watford in some style, inflicting a whitewash for a memorable first league triumph. Captain Ilesanmi and fellow first teamer Peter Kitchen were drafted into the side in place of Ivor Salter and Richard Vernon, and the beefed up side made the most of their grading advantage. Ben Howells got the Pirates off to a flyer with what is becoming a customary lightning fast game, finishing his 69-move game on bottom board before some matches had even started. Worcestershire’s players…

Shrewsbury A are preparing to host Oswestry A in their Shropshire Chess League division one curtain-raiser this week – after officially being reprieved from relegation. Dan Lockett’s side have retained their place in the top flight after the division was increased from seven teams to eight. They will start their campaign on Wednesday (September 24) against a team that was also involved in the battle towards the bottom of the table last season, writes Peter Kitchen. But it will be a new-look A team that tackles the upcoming season, with three key members of last season’s squad – Jamie Hopkins, Charles Lowick Higgie and Stephen Priestley – having either left…