Shrewsbury B just missed out on a positive result after some enthralling games saw Newport B see off Matt Best’s side 3.5-1.5. Shrewsbury were without Norman O’Connor, whose steady performances and return of 50% have been invaluable so far this season, so Matt opted to call upon C Team pair Ian Davies and Andrew Lewis to play on boards 4 and 5. The match got off on a positive footing, when the top board match between Mark Smith and Danny Griffiths finished with a somewhat quick draw. Meanwhile, on board 2, Ivor Salter’s habitual Scandinavian was replied to by Chris Lewis with 2…e5 – not a regular response. The game…

Shrewsbury B’s visit to Priorslee Lions B, initially due to be played before Christmas but postponed due to player shortages, has been re-arranged so that it will now be played on Monday the 4th March. A date for the postponed clash with Ludlow has still not been fixed.

Shrewsbury A’s hopes of a third-placed finish were boosted significantly with a win over Shifnal and Telford A; the team presently sitting third in the table. With skipper Jamie Hopkins feeling unwell and Dan Lockett also unavailable, the B Team duo of Matt Best and Mark Smith were called into action to provide cover against an opposing side also short of key players. It was however, an A Team regular who made the initial breakthrough. Peter Kitchen, playing his last game this season after having recently become a father, was facing the experienced Windsor Peck on board three. Peter came through the opening with a pretty strong position, won a…

Controller Matt Best has published the draw for the third round of the club championship. To see the draw, please visit the club championship page of the website.

Shrewsbury C ensured that at the halfway stage of the third division season, their promotion hopes were kept on track with a victory over Oswestry B. Going into the game, Ian Davies’ side were in 4th place on 6 points, 6, 5 and 4 points off the trailblazing trio of Oswestry A, Wellington B and Newport D respectively, albeit with a game in hand. It was, therefore, imperative that they made the most of said extra game in order to ensure the gap between themselves and second didn’t become untenable. Things started off solidly with Andrew Lewis agreeing a quick draw on top board against Steve Tulett. It looked a…

Shrewsbury B’s survival hopes were given a significant boost by a crucial victory away to Telepost C. The two sides went into the match separated by just one point and one place- the hosts were in fifth, whilst the visitors were sixth – one place above the relegation zone. They were, however, boosted by the fact that all three of their players who had entered the excellent Shropshire Congress over the preceding two days had come away with prizes – Francis Rooney finishing on 4/5 in the minor, securing joint third with 4 others and sharing the under 115 grading prize and congress-wide best Junior prize with Jonathan Newey; Matt…

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Shrewsbury A’s title hopes were all but extinguished after they found themselves on the wrong side of a 3.5-1.5 scoreline away to super-strong Newport A. Jamie Hopkins’ side were without the services of Peter Kitchen on board 4, so Dan Lockett moved up to board 4 and Ivor Salter, fresh from his impressive performance against Toby Neal for the B Team, filled in on board 4 against Tony Holdford. However, Ivor was unable to repeat his heroics this time out. He lost a pawn early on in the opening, and struggled from that point. In the end, despite his best efforts, he conceded defeat. His game was not, however, the…

Shrewsbury B were just unable to secure a result against second division title favourites Wellington A on Friday night. Wellington had a grading advantage on every board – at its smallest on board 5 and increasing on each board, to the stage where the visitors had a 38 point grading advantage on top board. Shrewsbury captain Matt Best had called on the services of Francis Rooney for the second time this season to play board 5, and he faced Ken Hickmott. Rooney, Black, played a Sicilian Dragon set up, but found himself with his dark-squared Bishop trapped in by his own pawns, and ended up having to give it up…

Dan Lockett secure his first win of the season for Shrewsbury A to help the team record a second consecutive win and move to within 3 points of table-topping Telepost A to set the stage for a critical clash away to second-placed Newport on December 6th. Lockett, who was promoted to the A team on a regular basis this summer, had been unfortunate so far this season, losing his opening 4 games despite some impressive results whilst standing in for the B team. He found himself up against Dean Pinnington this time out – a player whom he had beaten in the Shrewsbury Town Championship this summer. Indeed, the visitors…