A big week lies ahead for Shrewsbury B after a battling display was not enough to spare Mark Smith’s side from defeat to reigning Shropshire Online League champions Oswestry A. Despite being heavily outgraded on all boards, the B’s gave it everything and pushed their opponents all the way before slipping to a 3-1 defeat, writes Peter Kitchen. Top boards Mark Smith and Stephen Priestley impressively held Charles Lowick Higgie and Mehmet Altinsoy to draws. But Oswestry’s great depth told on the bottom two boards as both Ivor Salter and Richard Vernon were beaten. The B team remains embroiled in a battle with Telepost A at the bottom of the…

A hard-fought 3-2 win over Maddocks B helped to put further daylight between Shrewsbury A and the drop zone and solidify their mid-table position in Shropshire Chess League division one. The triumph was only the county town side’s second win of the season in the over-the-board league and their first since an opening day win in October, writes Peter Kitchen. But Francis Best’s side have only lost one of their six league fixtures to ensure they are riding higher than expected in the table – the Maddocks win initially put them into the top three, and they now lie fourth, level on points with rivals Telepost A. Wins for Best…

Round 2 pairings have now been posted. These games need to be completed by Friday 10th March to obtain the half point incentive. See the “Club Championship” tab for more details.

A re-jig of the line-up helped Shrewsbury C beat Oswestry C 2-1 to close the gap between the two sides in Shropshire Online Chess League division two. Robert Green celebrated being promoted to top board with a smooth victory over Steve Tulett, while captain Richard Vernon built on getting his first over-the-board result last week by defeating Alf Evans on board three – his first classical online win since June. Tony Purser lost to Jonathan Smith with the black pieces in a see-saw battle on board two, writes Peter Kitchen. Thanks to Newport A’s surprise win over leaders Telford A, Shrewsbury’s win wasn’t enough to move them off the foot…

After almost two-and-a-half hours of hard-fought play, Richard Vernon’s reaction to being offered a draw was truly decisive. Sitting back straight in his seat, he looked his opponent Gary Slegg in the eye, and said very firmly, “Yes!” But this was no ordinary result for Vernon – it was the Shrewsbury player’s first result other than defeat at the 11th time of asking, writes Peter Kitchen. It had been a long time coming. Since his first game for Shrewsbury – a loss to Oswestry’s James Joyson on March 11th last year – Vernon had played 10 over-the-board games either for the club or in individual competitions – and lost the…

The February / March calendar has now been posted to the Calendar tab.

A tenacious win against the odds from Robert Green was not enough to rescue a point for Shrewsbury C as they lost to runaway Shropshire Online Chess League division two leaders Telford A. Green fought back from a piece down to secure an unlikely triumph against Richard Thompson on bottom board, writes Peter Kitchen. That levelled the scores after captain Richard Vernon had earlier lost to Stefan Tennant on board two. But Tony Purser lost the decider on top board against Roger Brown to consign the heavily-outgraded C team to a 2-1 defeat. After an unorthodox opening on board two, Vernon built up a strong pawn centre against Tennant’s hypermodern…

A battling display saw Shrewsbury A claim a creditable 2.5-2.5 draw against reigning Shropshire Chess League champions Maddocks A – ending their opponents’ 100 per cent start to the season in the process. A fine win for Stephen Priestley on his first appearance of the season and a hard-fought victory for Francis Best on top board looked like it might be enough to claim a shock triumph, writes Peter Kitchen. But despite being an exchange up in his game against Tony Preece, Dan Lockett eventually lost the deciding match on board three in a complicated position as both clocks ran low. It was still a fine night’s work for Shrewsbury,…

Stephen Priestley’s win against Steve Tarr in the home match against Maddocks A was crucial in holding them to a draw. Stephen has annotated his game here, which can also be accessed through the “Interesting Games” tab.

Ivor Salter produced the shock of a night as Shrewsbury B once again held the club’s A team to a draw in division one of Shropshire Online Chess League. Salter made up a 250-point grading difference to shock Peter Kitchen with the black pieces on board three. With the top two boards finishing as draws, it was enough to ensure the B team drew with their supposedly-superior colleagues for the second time this season. Once again, it was the B’s who might have pinched the victory, as Dan Lockett was fortunate to defeat Richard Vernon on bottom board. The result did little to help either side’s cause, with the A…