Peter Kitchen writes. Shrewsbury Chess Club is delighted to welcome Nathanael Paul – one of the county’s strongest players – as a new member. Nathanael has joined the club to enable him to attempt to defend his Shrewsbury Town Championship title, which he won last Summer while registered with our town rivals Telepost.Nathanael was one of the key figures for Newport A during their recent domination of Shropshire Chess League division one, proving to be the strongest board two in the league. On current ECF ratings, he is the county’s number three player behind Nick Rutter and Nigel Ferrington with a grading of 2142. He has been taking a break…

Shrewsbury B moved seven points clear at the top of Shropshire Online Chess League division two with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over struggling Newport A. Despite captain Mark Smith being beaten on top board by Ian Jamieson, wins for Stephen Priestley and Ivor Salter made it 11 games unbeaten for the B’s. With closest rival Newport Juniors held to a draw by Oswestry C, the B’s extended their lead at the top of the table. It is a healthy lead with five games left to play – but both Newport Juniors and Telford A – themselves 3-0 victors this week – have games in hand. It was a tough week…

Two welcome victories against opposition from Telepost have helped the cause of Shrewsbury’s teams at both ends of Shropshire Online Chess League division two. Shrewsbury B made it 10 matches unbeaten and went six points clear at the top of the table thanks to a 2-1 win over Telepost D. It was the first time the team line-up had changed with captain Mark Smith playing for the first team over the board – but it didn’t prevent the B team from clinching their seventh win of the season. Meanwhile, Shrewsbury C ended a run of five games without a win by defeating Telepost C 2-1. It helped the Cs move…

Shrewsbury’s over-the-board team looks almost certain to finish bottom of Shropshire Chess League division one after a narrow 3-2 defeat at Newport. The result leaves Shrewsbury two points adrift of Telepost A and Oswestry with a vastly inferior “goal” difference – and they could be mathematically consigned to the wooden spoon before they play their final fixture at home to Newport on May 27. It comes despite a battling display away at Newport, which included as huge upset win for Peter Kitchen over one of the county’s elite Nick Rutter on top board.The match – which was the first “hybrid” match Shrewsbury have been involved in with one of the…

Shrewsbury A have secured the runners-up spot in Shropshire Online Chess League – several weeks after their last match. Oswestry A’s 3-1 victory over clubmates Oswestry B secured the title for them – and ensured Shrewsbury A finished above Oswestry B on points difference. It marks a significant improvement for the A’s, who last year finished bottom of the table with one draw and 13 defeats from 14 matches. This time around they have finished on 50 per cent with three draws and three losses from six matches, and were top of the table at Christmas. While the club can still only put out one team in over-the-board competition due…

Shrewsbury Chess Club has issued an urgent player appeal ahead of Tuesday’s crunch Shropshire Chess League division one clash away to Newport. The club is struggling to fill all five boards for the match due to a combination of illness, player unavailability and wariness over playing over the board due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Club officials are keen to give someone the chance to play competitive chess at division one level rather than default a board and deprive someone of a match. An appeal has already been made to the club’s existing players and the net has been cast wider by a call to arms on social media via the…

Peter Kitchen writes. A battling win from skipper Mark Smith helped Shrewsbury B to a tight 2-1 win over title rivals Telepost C – and helped extend his side’s lead at the top of Shropshire Online Chess League division two to five points. Smith won a see-saw battle with the black pieces against Peter Westhead on top board in the only decisive game of the match to clinch the points for his side. It also took the shine off a unique moment for the Westhead family. This match was the first time brothers Peter and John – who lined up on boards one and two for Telepost – had played…

A spectacular victory from captain Francis Best was not enough to stop Maddocks A from being crowned Shropshire Chess League champions for the first time in seven years. Best demolished the defences of Adrian Zdanowski on board two to put the bottom-of-the-table hosts into the lead after Dan Lockett and visiting skipper Glyn Pugh had agreed a peaceful 17-move draw on board four. But Maddocks roared back with convincing victories on the remaining boards to seal a 3.5-1.5 victory and mathematically ensure a first league title since 2015 and their first in their current guise – their last title was won while they were competing as Priorslee Lions. Oswestry’s 3-2…

Shrewsbury are the surprise early pacesetters in Shropshire Rapidplay League, opening up an early two-point cushion after the first two evenings. The county town side picked up a 2-2 draw against local rivals Telepost and a default victory over Newport, who were unable to raise a side due to Covid cases in their camp, at the latest evening of matches held at Telford Chess Club. But the night did end on a disappointing note for Shrewsbury with a 2.5-1.5 loss to Telford. Francis Best’s side has benefitted from two default victories in their first six fixtures, and there is still plenty of chess to be played with other very competitive…

Shrewsbury B have extended their lead at the top of Shropshire Online Chess League to four points thanks to a comfortable 2.5-0.5 win over town rivals Telepost B. Stephen Priestley and Ivor Salter picked up the victories to extend the B team’s unbeaten run to eight games – and they’ve fielded the same three players in all of those matches. But it wasn’t such a happy week for Shrewsbury C who, despite getting a 1-0 headstart through a bottom board default, fell to a 2-1 loss to promotion-chasing Telford A. The B’s made the most of Oswestry C slipping up earlier in the week against Telepost C to increase their…