Shrewsbury Chess Club’s 100% record across all its three teams in all three divisions continued with the A Team securing a hard fought victory at home against Priorslee Lions A. With newly-appointed captain Francis Best picking up an injury in the warm-up which ruled him out of the game, frantic last-minute arrangements were made from the hospital with its dodgy signal, via a lieutenant back home, and Daniel Lockett agreed to fill in on bottom board with David Everington standing in as captain. The theme of the match was set by an early conclusion to the game on board 4, where Peter Kitchen gained a headstart on the clock thanks…

Shrewsbury B matched the achievements of the club’s A and C teams as they started the new season with an away victory. They were up against a Newport B side who had done the double over them last year, winning both encounters 3-2, and who were also bolstered by the availability of Jonathan Newey on top board before he departs for University. The first game to finish was a wild encounter on top board between Matt Best and Jonathan Newey. Having played in the Shropshire Junior academy together for several years, as well as both playing alongside each other for a Shrewsbury Juniors team for three seasons, the two know…

After a solid, yet trophyless campaign on all fronts for Shrewsbury Chess Club, the 2013-14 season started with a bang as both the A and C teams started their league seasons with big victories. Jamie Hopkins’ A team were away to the rechristened Condover and Church Stretton club. After Jamie had his habitual quick draw on top board with the hosts’ Trevor Brotherton (this time with a mind to watch the England game – a turgid goalless draw with chances at a premium. I’ll refrain from any unkind comparisons for now!), the next game to finish was on the next board down. In the reverse fixture last season (although it…

With the hot weather moving in, the chess scene in Shropshire has quietened down a little, but not completely! Here is a brief round-up of how the summer competitions have treated Shrewsbury Chess Club: Minor Knockout After an excellent victory over Priorslee Lions B in the first round, Ian Davies’ C Team found a super-strong Ludlow team one step too far. Despite battling hard against a sizeable grading deficit on each four boards, the second division visitors won 3.5-0.5, with Tony Purser’s draw against Paul Munday on bottom board the only consolation. Ludlow then dispatched of the B Team in the semi-final, with Ivor Salter’s impressive victory over Robert Woodley…

Shrewsbury B made their way through to the next stage of the Minor Knockout with a hard fought victory away to Telepost C. All the signs pointed towards it being a tight game: the two sides finished 4th and 5th in the second division, with Telepost two points behind Shrewsbury; both sides had won one and lost one of the two head-to-head meetings this season; both sides had a grading advantage on two of the four boards and the average grades of the two teams were very similar (Shrewsbury’s 122 and Telepost’s 117). Skipper Matt Best got the ball rolling in a positive fashion by winning the toss, ensuring White…

Shrewsbury C stunned high-flying Priorslee Lions B with a superb victory in the first round of the minor knockout. Ian Davies’ side, without regulars Tony Purser and Eric Inglis, were bolstered by the availability of Matt Best to play on board three, although Fred Harris was not able to fill in on board four. However, the visitors (recently promoted to the first division after finishing second in the second tier) were also without several regulars, leading to them also only fielding three players and meant that the game would be decided over just three boards. It looked like things were set off badly when B Team skipper Matt dropped a…

Controller Matt Best has published the draw for the fifth and final round of this season’s Club Championship. The draw can be viewed on the Club Championship page, and the cross table is below. As can be seen, Jamie Hopkins and David Everington are joint leaders, with Jamie’s superior grading performance giving him the edge on the tie break.

Shrewsbury B ensured that the Club’s summer chess adventures got off to a flying start with a convincing 4-0 minor knockout win over Division three outfit Telepost D to set up a quarter final clash with Telepost C. After captain Matt Best lost the toss, Ivor Salter got proceedings underway with an efficient victory over Alan Cliff on board two. Having played his habitual Scandinavian, Ivor was able to get a nice, expansive position out of the opening and was able to deliver a very tidy Knight checkmate after Alan overlooked a Bishop on the long diagonal covering his King’s escape. Matt then doubled the lead when he beat Brian Holford…

As the league season drew to a close, all three Shrewsbury teams finished the campaign with disappointment. After Shrewsbury B lost two matches in three days, Ian Davies’ C Team missed out on second place and therefore promotion from the third division by the narrowest of margins – half a game point more would have been sufficient to secure promotion, despite a valiant late surge. Their fate was left out of their hands after they beat Oswestry B 3-1 away from home, with wins for Eric Inglis and Tony Purser followed up by draws from the top two boards of Ian himself and Andrew Lewis. That result meant that a…

Shrewsbury B’s league campaign culminated with a defeat away to Priorslee Lions on Monday night – a result which confirmed their opponents’ promotion. With the game having already been rescheduled on several occasions and limited scope for a further postponement, Shrewsbury skipper Matt Best was only able to field a team of three players, with Mark Smith unavailable, regular stand ins and irregular stand ins otherwise occupied, the C Team also playing and inanimate carbon rod down in Warwickshire and thus not able to play. However, despite having been thrashed 4.5-0.5 on the reverse fixture just three days beforehand despite a full complement of players, the visitors were able to…