Norman O’Connor rolled back the years with a stunning demolition of Telford’s top player Mark Keady – but it wasn’t enough to stop the Dawley-based side from clinching the Shropshire Online Chess League division two crown. O’Connor defeated his bamboozled opponent in just 19 moves – a truly outstanding achievement considering Norman was outrated by 300 points. Shrewsbury needed to win to stand any chance of halting Telford A’s march to the title – but could only manage a 1.5-1.5 draw. The match finished in frankly unbelievable circumstances, when Telford’s Roger Brown – two queens up – missed a mate on one on move 73 and instead stalemated Tony Purser’s…

Shrewsbury A produced their finest performance of the season to come from behind and beat Telepost A in the county town derby – leapfrogging their arch-rivals in the table in the process. Captain Francis Best and Nathanael Paul turned last week’s match around with victories against Phil Zabrocki and Nigel Ferrington on the final two boards to finish after Fred Bench had given the hosts the lead by beating Richard Vernon on bottom board, writes Peter Kitchen. Ivor Salter had earlier tenaciously saved a losing position against John Bashall on board four to keep Shrewsbury in the hunt. The result – secured despite the team missing three players and being…

Round 3 pairings of the club championship have now been posted. See the pairings on the club championship tab. Three players currently share the lead on 100%: Nat Paul, Dan Lockett and Francis Best.

Stephen Priestley and Nathanael Paul slugged it out for 122 moves in a gripping encounter in a dramatic night of action in Shrewsbury Chess Club Championship. Priestley sacrificed first a pawn then an exchange in a bold bid to force a decisive result against the club’s highest rated player, writes Peter Kitchen. But Paul was relentless in his pursuit of victory in the ensuing ending, eventually breaking his opponent’s resistance after nearly two-and-a-half hours play – almost unheard of with shorter online time controls. The game was one of three intriguing online encounters played on Friday night to meet the deadline for round two fixtures, with all three watched by…

Shrewsbury A missed out on a first league double of the season – but picked up another useful point with a draw against Oswestry A. Francis Best’s side came from behind to lead their struggling visitors in their recent Shropshire Chess League division one clash at the Nerdy Café, writes Peter Kitchen. But Ivor Salter was beaten by Gary Slegg on bottom board in the final game to finish to ensure the spoils were shared. It means Shrewsbury will go into Monday night’s mouthwatering “El Chessico” county town derby with Telepost A with just one defeat from their seven league matches and comfortably placed in fourth in the seven-team division,…

Tony Purser claimed one of the biggest scalps of his chess-playing career – but it wasn’t enough to spare Shrewsbury B from defeat against defending Shropshire Online Chess League champions Oswestry A. Purser – a veteran of the club’s B and C teams in the second and third divisions of the local over-the-board leagues for several years – shocked one of the county’s elite by checkmating Brian Whyte in their board three encounter, writes Peter Kitchen. But the reigning champions still prevailed 2.5-1.5 to open up a small gap at the top of the online league division one table – and leave Shrewsbury B mired in a relegation scrap with…

Shrewsbury C have risen to second place in Shropshire Online Chess League division two after securing three points from two matches in the space four days against Newport A. Richard Vernon’s team drew the first encounter between the sides, before claiming a convincing 2.5-0.5 triumph in the reverse fixture, writes Peter Kitchen. It means the C’s have leapfrogged Newport to lie second in the table, three points adrift of long-time leaders Telford A having played a game more. The top two teams will meet on Tuesday (March 14), with Shrewsbury needing a win to give themselves any hope of an unlikely last-gasp tilt at the title. Newport’s first team is…

Shrewsbury Chess Club and the wider county chess-playing community has been left saddened by the death of former club member Ray Cox. Ray was a key part of one of the most successful periods in the club’s history, being part of Shropshire Chess League title-winning sides four times in the early to mid 1970s. He was also club secretary for a spell during this time. Ray had started playing chess as a junior during the late 1950s, and played at a high level for the club and for Shropshire’s first team through the 1960s and 1970s. He was part of the Shrewsbury squad that won the Shropshire league in 1971,…

Robert Green and Ian Davies sprang surprises by clinching results against higher-rated players in the opening round of Shrewsbury Club Championship. Green beat Ivor Salter with the black pieces, while Davies produced a solid, stubborn display on the white side of a Colle to hold first team player Peter Kitchen to a draw. Top seed Nathanael Paul was also given a huge fright by Norman O’Connor before winning on time. While the remainder of the first round ties went with the form book, the results are a sign of just how competitive the club championship is and how ratings mean very little when club players face each other, writes Peter…

Father-and-son duo Francis and Matt Best made their own claim for a little piece of history as they lined up at the top of the order for Shrewsbury A’s much-needed 2.5-1.5 win over Shropshire Online Chess League champions Oswestry A. The Bests were named as Shrewsbury’s board one and two – possibly the first time such a pair has been named on the top two boards for the first team in the club’s long history stretching back more than 100 years, writes Peter Kitchen. Unfortunately the occasion was somewhat dampened by Matt – making his first appearance of the season for the club – not getting a game as he…