B team goes top with convincing win

Shrewsbury B are the new leaders of division three of the Shropshire Chess League after a comfortable 4-0 win against Newport Junior B.

Shane Greenwood, Nick Holmes, Ivor Salter and David Edwards all won their games again at their youthful opponents to clinch a second win in three matches, writes Peter Kitchen.

For Salter it heralds a remarkable start to the season as he has now got three wins out of three matches.

The result elevated Richard Vernon’s side to the top of the standings – albeit having played a game more than the chasing pack – while their young hosts are still chasing their first board point of the season.

The Shrewsbury side showed two changes from the team that narrowly lost at home to Newport B last time out. Shane Greenwood made his first appearance for the Bs on top board, while Nick Holmes came back into the side on board two. They replaced Ian Davies and unavailable captain Vernon.

While the juniors put up a spirited fight, the match was all done and dusted by 9pm, with Shrewsbury having a bit too much quality and know-how for their opponents on all four boards.

Reflecting on the match, Edwards said that while it was “very early days” for Newport Junior B, the youngsters had shown some promise.

The result sets things up nicely for the local derby against Darwinian Knights C on October 30 – both Darwinian C and Newport B will have the chance to leapfrog Shrewsbury B before this fixture by playing their games in hand against Telford C and Darwinian Knights Junior respectively.

For more details and to see the league table, visit www.shropshirechess.org