Shrewsbury Chess Club will enter a team in the national online league for the first time, it has been revealed. Shrewsbury Pirates has been registered to play in the 12th season of 4NCL Online, which is due to get under way on Tuesday (September 9). The team will be captained by Olusegun Ilesanmi – who has already spoken of his excitement at the club’s new venture – and will play matches against teams from across the country every other Tuesday evening, writes Peter Kitchen. Club officials made the move to ensure it could offer competitive chess to all members after Shropshire Chess Association took the decision during last season to…

Shrewsbury Chess Club will enter three teams in the Shropshire Chess League for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been confirmed. The club has asked for a Shrewsbury C team to be entered in division three for the forthcoming 2025/26 season. In addition, Shrewsbury B will accept promotion to division two after winning the division two title last season, while the club has asked league controller Dan Hilditch-Love if Shrewsbury A can remain in division one, despite ending the 2024/25 campaign in the relegation zone. The requests have been made following discussions between members at the club’s recent AGM, and the move to enter three teams is…

The winner of this year’s Shrewsbury Chess Club Championship will be decided on the final game. Tournament leader Olusegun Ilesanmi saw his 100 per cent record bite the dust as he was beaten with white by fellow A team player Peter Kitchen. He now faces a nervous wait for the outcome of the final game between Stephen Priestley and Dan Lockett. Lockett must win with black to catch Ilesanmi, while a win for Priestley would give him a share of second place with Kitchen. The Priestley v Lockett game was one of six final round games scheduled for last Wednesday night – but had to be postponed on the day…

David Edwards (left) was recently presented with the David Everington Trophy for his outstanding contribution to the club over the past year. David joined the club about 18 months ago, but is now the club’s treasurer and is a regular on club nights, supporting new players and visitors of all abilities and being a very friendly and welcoming influence. He’s also played extremely well for Shrewsbury B, scoring 8/10 to help the side clinch the Shropshire Chess League division three title last season. David also captained Shrewsbury B to an excellent second placed finish in Shropshire Rapidplay Chess League and was also skipper of the Shrewsbury 2 team that won…

Our AGM will be held from 7.30pm at our usual venue on Wednesday 30th July. Following the AGM business we’ll be holding a blitz competition for those attending.

The final round of this years club championship has now been published and players are reminded to complete their games before the August cut-off to receive their bonus half point. It could make all the difference! Good luck.

Shrewsbury B capped a superb season by sealing the Shropshire Chess League division three title on the final day of the season – and promotion with it. Richard Vernon’s side won 3-1 away to Darwinian Knights Junior, which saw them win the league on head-to-head record after finishing the season with the same points and “goal” difference as long time leaders Newport B. Shrewsbury went into the match knowing a win would secure the title so long as Newport B didn’t score one game point more in their match against Darwinian Knights C. Newport’s 3.5-0.5 was only enough to draw them level on points difference with Shrewsbury. The two sides…

Shrewsbury A were cruelly condemned to a spot in the Shropshire Chess League division one relegation zone after a defeat sealed by the final board of the season to finish. The visitors were locked at 2-2 with Newport A in the winner-takes-all relegation clash, only for an unbelievably tense top board clash to go the way of the hosts. Charles Lowick Higgie lost on time to Nick Rutter trying to hold an ending with rook, bishop and two pawns against his opponents two rooks and one pawn. It meant the two sides both finished on 11 points with an identical points difference with 30.5 game points for and 29.5 against.…

Shrewsbury B have secured promotion from division three of Shropshire Chess League and given themselves a real shot at the title thanks to a 3-1 win away to local rivals Darwinian Knights C. Captain Richard Vernon, David Edwards and Ian Davies secured the victories to ensure Shrewsbury – needing a point to guarantee a top two finish – moved level on points with long-time leaders Newport B heading into the final round of fixtures. Nick Holmes lost to Shane Sweeney on top board, but it was no more than a consolation for the hosts, who must now settle for a mid-table finish. Shrewsbury now lead the table by virtue of…

Mark Smith’s victory in the final game to finish, secured an important point for Shrewsbury A in their crucial relegation clash with fellow strugglers Newport A. Smith defeated Phil Love with the black pieces on bottom board to cancel out Charles Lowick Higgie’s earlier defeat against Nick Rutter on top board to ensure the match finish all square. It was a fitting result following a tense match where all five boards were closely contested throughout. Shrewsbury had climbed out of the relegation zone with their derby win over champions-elect Telepost A last time out – but Newport A had since defeated Maddocks A to climb back above Shrewsbury on “goal…