Four Shrewsbury teams will compete in the Shropshire Chess League for the first time in more than 20 years, it has been revealed. Shrewsbury D will be led by newly-appointed captain Nick Nuthall and will compete in division three in the forthcoming season. A second club night will be introduced on Mondays to help cater for the additional home fixtures at Cromwell’s Tap House, writes Peter Kitchen. Both the plan to introduce a D team and the idea to create a second match night were unanimously supported by members at the club’s annual general meeting on Wednesday following an in-depth discussion of views. It was agreed the new Monday night…

Shane Greenwood took the first step towards a trophy double by winning Shrewsbury Chess Club’s inaugural summer quickplay tournament. Greenwood (pictured on the right) won a tense playoff against Olusegun Ilesanmi after both players had finished the regular tournament on 6/7, writes Peter Kitchen. The decider itself went right down to the wire, with Greenwood having just three seconds left as Ilesanmi ran out of time. And with Greenwood a point clear in the club championship with the final round games now under way, he could yet seal a notable double by winning both tournaments. He has the white pieces against Fred Bennett in his final game, and the chasing…

Tom Maiden reports on our summer online arena. CLUB treasurer David Edwards fended off a 16-strong field at the club’s summer online arena last month, retaining the title he had narrowly won at Christmas. At that meet, only two points had separated the top three positions, but with 21 points this time (five clear of second), it was an authoritative finish for Edwards, who had also arranged the tournament. “There is a growing suspicion that I only organise these events because I think I’ll win them!” said Edwards. “In reality I needed several large dollops of luck to pip some very good players to the post, but I was chuffed…

A new internal summer quickplay tournament will be held by the club for the first time. The event will be held at Cromwell’s Tap House on August 19th with a time control of five minutes for all moves in each game. It is aimed at club members initially, although visitors not belonging to other clubs are also welcome. In addition, we can confirm that the club’s annual general meeting will be held the following Wednesday (August 26th), also at Cromwell’s. Issues up for discussion included captain and officer reports and league teams for the up coming season. Agendas will be sent out to members in advance (once the secretary/publicity officer…

Given that the England game is on tomorrow night, there will not be an official club night this Wednesday, but we will be back to normal the following week. Members are of course always welcome to go along to watch the game in the bar with everyone else.

Shrewsbury A briefly moved off the foot of the table with a vital 3-2 win over Newport Junior A – but captain Dan Lockett has warned that there are still “tough” challenges ahead if his side hopes to beat the drop. Lockett, David Edwards and Ivor Salter all won to help the visitors come from behind against the Juniors after Stephen Priestley was impressively dismantled on board two by Waylon Chan, writes Peter Kitchen. And despite Peter Kitchen seeing his 21-match unbeaten run spanning two weeks short of a full year come to end against Krish Thimmegowda on top board, it wasn’t enough to stop Shrewsbury claiming the points. They…

Shrewsbury B have reached the make-or-break stage of their season as they aim to avoid the final relegation spot in Shropshire Chess League division two. The delight of an against-the-odds derby triumph against high-flying Darwinian Knights B was followed by the despair of a damaging defeat against fellow strugglers Newport Junior B that kept David Edwards’ side in danger of an instant return to division three, writes Peter Kitchen. Now the Bs face a must-win game against already-relegated Maddocks B on Wednesday before completing their campaign against fellow strugglers Telford B on April 8. Telford B currently have eight points, one ahead of Shrewsbury B and Newport Junior B. Crucially,…

Shrewsbury A can take comfort from pushing champions-elect Newport A all the way – but face a “tough” relegation battle next up against Newport Junior A. That’s the verdict of captain Dan Lockett, who saw his side fall just short against a Newport A side that has swept all before them so far this season and now stands on the brink of mathematically wrapping up the Shropshire Chess League division one title, writes Peter Kitchen. Ultimately, the 3-2 home defeat has left Shrewsbury still rooted to the bottom of the division one table – with nearest rivals Darwinian Knights A and Newport Junior A having a game in hand against…

Shrewsbury C fell short against a table-topping team for the second consecutive match, losing 3-1 at home to league leaders Newport B. Captain Ben Howells’ win on time over the experienced Dave Lovegrove with the black pieces on board three proved no more than a consolation for the hosts, who lost the remaining games, writes Peter Kitchen. The result comes hot on the heels of a narrow home loss against previous leaders Telford C last time out – the third fixture in a row when the Cs had faced a team top of the standings. It has left them marooned in the bottom three of the Shropshire Chess League division…

Tom Osenton’s first ever competitive victory was ultimately not enough for Shrewsbury C as they pushed Shropshire Chess League division three leaders all the way before falling to a 2.5-1.5 defeat. Osenton won a fine game on board four against Erin Pichanick in just 23 moves to claim his first win for the C team at the third attempt. It followed Tom Maiden agreeing a quiet 14-move draw with Tim Skidmore on board two to put the hosts 1.5-0.5 up with just two boards still in play, writes Peter Kitchen. But the leaders came roaring back on those final two boards. Dzhan Basriev won a very impressive game against Orlando…