Shrewsbury B will go into this week’s home game against Church Stretton A looking to recover from their humbling opening defeat at Oswestry B. The newly-promoted seconds had made the journey up the A5 to face one of the previous campaign’s strugglers with relatively high hopes on the back of winning the Shropshire Chess League division three title last season. But their opening encounter at the higher level brought them crashing back down to earth as they returned on the end of a 5-0 loss, writes Peter Kitchen. Stretton will roll into Cromwell’s on Wednesday (October 15) with a fair degree of confidence themselves. They drew their opening division two…

An experimental Shrewsbury Pirates side fell to a heavy defeat in their latest 4NCL Online division four outing. The Pirates were sunk by a well drilled Epsom Salties 2 outfit, who took advantage of early errors by Shrewsbury players to ease to a 4-0 win. Shrewsbury handed competitive debuts to Nick Nuthall and Tom Osenton on boards two and four, with the pair coming in for Olusegun Ilesanmi and Peter Kitchen. Without the top two boards from the win over Worcestershire Wolfpack D last time out, Tony Purser moved up to top board. Ben Howells was first to finish on board three, losing material after coming under pressure early on…

This is a quick message to our members, and those thinking of attending tonight. Due to two of our teams being away playing league matches, and a few of our regulars being away on holiday, please be aware that there will be a more limited club night at Cromwell’s tonight. The venue will of course still be open and will be welcoming as always and players can still attend if they wish.

Shrewsbury A overcame a “potentially tricky fixture” by defeating Oswestry A in their opening Shropshire Chess League division one outing, according to captain Dan Lockett. Mark Smith and Shane Greenwood were the matchwinners as Shrewsbury edged to a deserved 3-2 victory – a fine start to the new campaign after the side received a reprieve from relegation last season, writes Peter Kitchen. Lockett said his side’s two victors had made the difference in a tight match – and that the whole team had stepped up after the loss of last season’s top two boards Jamie Hopkins and Charles Lowick Higgie and the unavailability of Stephen Priestley. Smith’s triumph over Paul…

Shrewsbury Pirates tonight swept to their first ever national online victory, dispatching Worcestershire Wolfpack D 4-0. Olusegun Ilesanmi’s team bounced back from their opening day 4NCL Online division four defeat to Watford in some style, inflicting a whitewash for a memorable first league triumph. Captain Ilesanmi and fellow first teamer Peter Kitchen were drafted into the side in place of Ivor Salter and Richard Vernon, and the beefed up side made the most of their grading advantage. Ben Howells got the Pirates off to a flyer with what is becoming a customary lightning fast game, finishing his 69-move game on bottom board before some matches had even started. Worcestershire’s players…

Shrewsbury A are preparing to host Oswestry A in their Shropshire Chess League division one curtain-raiser this week – after officially being reprieved from relegation. Dan Lockett’s side have retained their place in the top flight after the division was increased from seven teams to eight. They will start their campaign on Wednesday (September 24) against a team that was also involved in the battle towards the bottom of the table last season, writes Peter Kitchen. But it will be a new-look A team that tackles the upcoming season, with three key members of last season’s squad – Jamie Hopkins, Charles Lowick Higgie and Stephen Priestley – having either left…

Shrewsbury Chess Club will enter a team in the national online league for the first time, it has been revealed. Shrewsbury Pirates has been registered to play in the 12th season of 4NCL Online, which is due to get under way on Tuesday (September 9). The team will be captained by Olusegun Ilesanmi – who has already spoken of his excitement at the club’s new venture – and will play matches against teams from across the country every other Tuesday evening, writes Peter Kitchen. Club officials made the move to ensure it could offer competitive chess to all members after Shropshire Chess Association took the decision during last season to…

Shrewsbury Chess Club will enter three teams in the Shropshire Chess League for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been confirmed. The club has asked for a Shrewsbury C team to be entered in division three for the forthcoming 2025/26 season. In addition, Shrewsbury B will accept promotion to division two after winning the division two title last season, while the club has asked league controller Dan Hilditch-Love if Shrewsbury A can remain in division one, despite ending the 2024/25 campaign in the relegation zone. The requests have been made following discussions between members at the club’s recent AGM, and the move to enter three teams is…

The winner of this year’s Shrewsbury Chess Club Championship will be decided on the final game. Tournament leader Olusegun Ilesanmi saw his 100 per cent record bite the dust as he was beaten with white by fellow A team player Peter Kitchen. He now faces a nervous wait for the outcome of the final game between Stephen Priestley and Dan Lockett. Lockett must win with black to catch Ilesanmi, while a win for Priestley would give him a share of second place with Kitchen. The Priestley v Lockett game was one of six final round games scheduled for last Wednesday night – but had to be postponed on the day…

David Edwards (left) was recently presented with the David Everington Trophy for his outstanding contribution to the club over the past year. David joined the club about 18 months ago, but is now the club’s treasurer and is a regular on club nights, supporting new players and visitors of all abilities and being a very friendly and welcoming influence. He’s also played extremely well for Shrewsbury B, scoring 8/10 to help the side clinch the Shropshire Chess League division three title last season. David also captained Shrewsbury B to an excellent second placed finish in Shropshire Rapidplay Chess League and was also skipper of the Shrewsbury 2 team that won…