Shrewsbury Chess Club will this week resume club nights at the Nerdy Café, it has been announced. Players wishing to attend will have to return a negative result on a lateral flow test beforehand, according to Secretary, Mark Smith.  He said it was up to individuals to decide whether they felt ready to attend and play friendlies over the board. Friday’s event will be the second club night held at the Nerdy Café. The opening night at the Mardol venue in December was a rousing success, but none have taken place since Shropshire Chess Association suspended competitive over-the-board chess until further notice in the county shortly afterwards due to fears…

Shrewsbury’s tremendous season on the internet continued as the Bs and Cs both picked up hard-fought 2-1 victories – and both leading the way at the top of Shropshire Online Chess League division two. The Bs are now three points clear of the chasing pack thanks to Ivor Salter’s victory in the deciding game on board three against Newport Juniors’ Colin Parker. And the C team achieved a truly historic scalp by defeating county giants Newport A – albeit their opponents were some way below full strength. Recent recruits Rob Nayman and Richard Vernon picked up the all-important victories. With the A team currently top of online division one, it…

Shrewsbury’s B and C team will this week look to build on promising starts to their online campaigns – with no apparent return to over-the-board chess in sight yet. Table toppers Shrewsbury B will look to extend their lead at the summit of Shropshire Online Chess League division two when they face Newport Juniors, while Shrewsbury C face a daunting assignment against Newport A. Both matches will take place on Thursday (January 20) on Lichess, and can be followed live by spectators. Team news and player handles will be published on the club’s Facebook page before the matches start. But it appears that online matches will continue to be the…

Reigning Shrewsbury club champion Francis Best got his title defence off to the perfect start with a battling opening round win over Ivor Salter. Best, who is also the tournament’s top seed, ground out a 60-move win with the black pieces in a bishop ending against a typically tenacious Salter, who as always was difficult to break down. The club championship is traditionally a tournament with no easy games for any players, although the three first round games to have been played have so far seen the seeded players emerge victorious as two of the club’s newest members endured a difficult baptism of fire. Dan Lockett was a convincing winner…

Tony Purser has initiated this year’s club championship, which is again being run online to include as many members as possible. Pairings and results can be found in the “Club Championship” tab of the website.

Shrewsbury B remain top of Shropshire Online Chess League division two after a creditable draw with local heavyweights Newport A – while the Cs have also picked up their first win of the season. The Bs could be forgiven for wondering if they could have gone on to win against their more illustrious opponents on Thursday evening. But they remain unbeaten and top of the table with two wins and a draw from their first three fixtures. Meanwhile, Shrewsbury C continued the club’s fine record in derbies against neighbours Telepost this season, this time defeating Telepost D 2.5-0.5 in impressive style. Tuesday’s win meant the Bs and Cs were first…

Shrewsbury Chess Club can look forward to 2022 with optimism after ending a difficult 2021 on a high, writes Peter Kitchen. The club’s A and B team currently lie top of the two Shropshire online chess leagues, while the club’s over-the-board team is punching above its weight in Shropshire Chess League division one. The club has also secured a new venue for OTB chess at the Nerdy Café in Shrewsbury town centre, with more club nights hopefully in the pipeline after a successful launch night in December. There has also been interest from potential new members in recent weeks, due in part to the new venue and a fresh impetus…

Shrewsbury A clinched a second Shropshire Online Chess League first division win in a row with a tense victory over arch-rivals Telepost A – and will top the table at Christmas. Captain Francis Best was the hero, winning the deciding game on top board against former Shrewsbury player Steve Rooney to secure a 2.5-1.5 triumph. All three remaining games had finished as draws in a closely fought match. It also meant two derby wins for Shrewsbury over Telepost A in the space of 10 days following the 3-2 over-the-board victory on December 13. Shrewsbury have gone top of the online league table with two wins from three matches, despite remarkably…

Competitive over-the-board chess has been suspended until further notice due to growing fears over the spread of Covid-19 and the Omicron variant, it has been announced. The decision was taken at a virtual Shropshire Chess Association council meeting on Sunday night, and comes into force immediately. Two division two fixtures slated for this week – Telepost C v Telepost B and Telford A v Telepost D – had already been postponed after the Telepost club chose to suspend its own OTB activities in advance of Sunday’s meeting. It comes as the whole country waits to discover whether the Government will bring in tighter restrictions in the days leading up to…

Shrewsbury and Telepost’s first teams will face each other for the second derby in little more than a week – amid growing concern over the threat of Covid-19 to local over-the-board chess. Shrewsbury A and Telepost A will meet virtually on Tuesday in Shropshire Online Chess League division one. It comes after last week’s over-the-board derby, which Shrewsbury won 3-2. But Telepost has taken the decision as a club to postpone all over-the-board activities due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant. A notice on the club’s website states: “Due to the pandemic, the club is closed for over-the-board chess until further notice.” As a result it has postponed the over-the board…