A very successful first half to our season has now come to an end and we stand on top, leading by one point, but like last season we all know how quickly that can change. I, for one, am under no illusion that it will, so let’s congratulate  ourselves on what we have achieved so far. The Spanish Armada has now sailed back home, but this time undefeated, and the team owes our senorita Celia a huge debt of gratitude for helping to put us there. She will be very much missed but things go on and we must make sure that all of her efforts were not in vain…

A never to be forgotten  night of chess was played out at the Telepost club on Monday night (7th December) when the B team took on the leaders, Telepost B, and took both points after a dazzling finale. Celia was given the honour of playing board 1, as it was her last appearance  for us and she has done so much for the team and club since she has been here. Mark, playing on board 3, was first to finish after missing out on a winning attack and then having to settle for a draw. My game on board 5 against Andrew Lewis was the complete opposite. A bit like…

On another memorable  night of chess, the B team pulled of a dramatic 3-2 win over the strong Ludlow A team to elevate us into second place in the division, just behind our next opponents, Telepost B. We could conceivably go into the Christmas break as leaders. Norman got the ball rolling on board 4, when he and his opponent agreed a draw because neither could make any headway. The less said about my abject attempt to play the Dutch defence the better. I think it’s time to consign it to the dustbin.  All credit to my opponent, who played some nice moves, including a delayed rook sacrifice, which completely…

On account of the unavailability of four regular A team players, no fewer than three members of the B team were drafted in to take on the mighty Newport A, plus Peter Kitchen, who is currently out of chess action normally, because of work and family commitments.  A team regular, Mark Smith, found himself elevated to board one in the absence of most of his usual colleagues. I was first to finish after playing some of the best chess I have in a long time, by completely  crushing my opponent with the Grand Prix attack which, on a very stormy, windswept night (thought the windows were going to come out…

A strong B team line-up saw off the challenge of Church Stretton B in our away fixture to them on 12th November but only by the narrowest of margins: 3-2. This shows why I must try and select the strongest possible team while it is still possible, unfortunately  leaving out some players who would otherwise get to play (this may even include me if I think it’s the right thing to do for the team!)  The time will come later on in the season when we will really be struggling even to get 5 players, so these are vital points to be won now.  I hope everyone understands. I was…

Your not so illustrious B team has dropped into the danger zone of Division2 after losing our midweek away match against Telford B by 3½ – 1½. In a match that really could have gone either way on paper, over the chessboard Telford proved to be the more ruthless.  Dr Ile was playing on board one against the strong Mark Keady from Brewood.  Ile had what looked to me like a really attacking position, with the possibility  of a knight sacrifice, which was declined, after which he was gradually worn down by his experienced  opponent: 1-0. Norman was also having a good game on board 2.  It all looked pretty even…

Your illustrious B team got their league campaign well under way with a 5-0 whitewash over a strong Newport B team on Friday night. The inclusion of Spanish exchange student (board two), Celia Gillis, and Nigerian Doctor Olusegun Ilesanmi (board three) certainly went a long way to achieving  this result. With wins from Mark Smith (board one), Norman O’Connor (board four) and me on board five, we became the first team to  achieve  a whitewash in the top 2 divisions so far this season. Unfortunately, Celia is only with us until Christmas but talks are underway with the Spanish  Government!  Dr Ile can hopefully can find the time in his busy schedule…

A quick catch up on our first two matches.  First of all, we lost out to Telepost A at our first fixture of the season.  Things might have been so different!  However, our 4-1 defeat has been erased from the memory banks and I am therefore unable to provide any more details! Second up, we were due to be playing Oswestry away.  This time, we achieved the same 4-1 score, only in our favour.  To be fair, Oswestry were missing their normal top two players, so started at a bit of a disadvantage.  The first player to finish was David Everington, who was playing David Bennion.  Ever the optimist, I…

Apologies  for the delay in writing this; I have been having some technical  difficulties  with my e-mail. A home defeat by 3-2 against  Priorslee B was the result of our opening match of the season, with draws for Mark on board 1, Ivor on board 3 and defeats for Norman and Tony on boards 2 and 5 respectively.  I actually managed to win my game against  my fellow captain after a long hard struggle which usually ensues after opening with the Colle.  I didn’t get to see much of the other games and had no reports, so I’ll leave it at that, but I will add (speaking with my captain’s…

Shrewsbury A finished the 2014-15 league season with a flourish as a superb victory over a strong Wellington A side was coupled with a draw against the newly-crowned Champions (and still undefeated) Priorslee Lions A to mean Francis Best’s side finished with 7 points out of a possible 8 from the final four fixtures of the season. In the penultimate fixture, Wellington fielded a team minus stalwart Toby Neal, although Shrewsbury was lacking Mark Smith.  Reserves Ian Davies (for Shrewsbury) and John Lenton (for Wellington) battled each other to a standstill in a creditable draw for both sides, leaving the upper boards to battle it out.  On board 1, Tiago…