Debutants shine as Pirates bring home the bounty
Debutants Patrick Fitch and Chris Warrilow enjoyed nights to remember as their two stylish victories helped Shrewsbury Pirates to only their second win of the season.
On a night where Shrewsbury fielded three players making their competitive bow for the club across two matches, Fitch and Warrilow were the first pair two finish as the Pirates crushed Wessex J 4-0 in 4NCL Online division four.
Old stagers Tony Purser and Ivor Salter finished the job off with victories of their own on the top two boards, helping the pirates move up to 21st in the 29-team table, writes Peter Kitchen.
While a place in the end-of-season promotion playoffs is mathematically impossible going into the final round of the season on December 2, the Pirates will look to end the season with a flourish and finish as high up the table as possible.
It would mark a successful end to a season that has seen the team act as a vital way into competitive chess for some of the club’s newer and inexperienced members.
Ben Howells, Nick Nuthall and Tom Osenton have joined Fitch and Warrilow in cutting their teeth by playing for the online team, with the former trip now all established C team players. It is hoped Fitch and Warrilow will also get some over-the-board opportunities in the coming weeks and months.
Against Wessex J, although both players missed checkmating sequences both Fitch and Warrilow enjoyed convincing wins.
Playing with the black pieces, Warrilow broke through on the kingside with an impressive pawn storm against Rose Saunders. He then missed a pretty mate in two with doubled h-pawns, but nevertheless maintained a dominant position before delivering checkmate several pieces up on move 54.
On board three, a blunder on move 12 by Steve Saunders allowed Fitch to crash through the centre of the board, winning the d5 pawn before ruinous material losses followed. Fitch missed a hard-to-spot mate in eight on move 22, instead taking the logical option of exchanging queens, and his opponent soldiered on until move 43 before finally resigning.
The final two games lasted considerably longer, but the results again went the Pirates’ way.
On board two, Purser was engaged in a tense middlegame battle with Sonam Bhatt before his opponent blundered a knight on move 22. From there, the result was never in doubt, and Purser crowned an impressive kingside attack by delivering checkmate on move 35.
Salter’s triumph over Tim McCullagh on top board was an exercise in patient grinding. First, he secured a positional advantage against his opponent’s Modern Defence, re-routing his knight to the strong e6 outpost early in the middlegame. When Salter’s second knight started to invade black’s territory, the game was soon up – he won a pawn, then an exchange, and then converted a winning endgame convincingly.
Full scores (Shrewsbury colours in brackets):
Shrewsbury Pirates 4-0 Wessex J
1.Ivor Salter (w) 1-0 Tim McCullagh
2.Tony Purser (b) 1-0 Sonam Bhatt
3.Patrick Fitch (w) 1-0 Steve Saunders
4.Chris Warrilow (b) 1-0 Rose Saunders
Average ECF ratings – Shrewsbury Pirates: 1354; Wessex J: 1102