Peter Kitchen writes… The top four seeds have been drawn to face each other in round two of Shrewsbury Club Championship. Defending champion Francis Best will have the white pieces against Dan Lockett, while Mark Smith will face current club over-the-board top board Peter Kitchen. Three of the quartet won their opening round matches, while Kitchen was held to a comfortable draw by Norman O’Connor. One of the games has already been played – Stephen Priestley has provisionally gone top of the table after drawing with Ivor Salter. Games are played online on Lichess with a time control of 45 minutes for all moves, with 15 seconds increment per move.…

Shrewsbury B maintained their three-point lead at the top of Shropshire Online Chess league division two after a hard-fought draw with fellow title challengers Oswestry C. Despite significantly outgrading their opponents, the B’s were indebted to Mark Smith grinding out a 99-move win in a topsy-turvy struggle on top board against Keith Grice to extend the side’s unbeaten run to five matches. There was also a bizarre finish to the match on board two. Oswestry’s Stephen Tulett’s computer froze while in a level position against Stephen Priestley. He subsequently lost on time on the Lichess website that the match was being played on – but the players and captains both…

Tony Purser has published the round 2 pairings for the club championship. To see the pairings, click on the “Club Championship” tab. Please play all games by FRIDAY 11th MARCH to receive the half point incentive.

Club officials have reacted with delight to the news that competitive over-the-board chess will soon resume in Shropshire. The prospect of hosting the club’s first league matches at its new Nerdy Café venue in the coming weeks is also being looked forward to, according to first team captain Francis Best. It comes as the first club night of the year is due to be held at Nerdy tonight (Friday). An open invitation has been issued to players from other clubs to attend if they wish as part of a drive to encourage people back to playing face to face – if they feel comfortable doing so. Shropshire Chess Association announced…

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…