Inspirational Nick makes epic journey back to the chessboard
It was a special moment that was the culmination of many months of hard work and recovery.
Nick Holmes made his first league appearance for Shrewsbury Chess Club for 18 months when he played on board two for Shrewsbury D away to Darwinian Knights C in Shropshire Chess League division three.
It came a little over a year after he suffered a major stroke that has had a huge impact on his day-to-day life, considerably restricting his movement in the right-hand side of his body and seeing him need a powered wheelchair to get about, writes Peter Kitchen.
Holmes also captained the side in last week’s fixture in the absence of regular skipper Nick Nuthall, and lost his game to his former Telepost teammate Paul Billington on board two.
It is all part of Holmes’ process of easing himself back into playing chess as he continues his recovery. He has started to attend some club nights – to the delight of the club’s membership who are keen to do everything they can to support him.
While Holmes is likely to step back from competitive league games for the immediate future, he will continue to play social games and compete in shorter games in the internal C & D interplay tournament.
“I enjoyed playing on Tuesday, but I do have to think about the length of matches and the playing environment,” said Holmes. “It can create an overload, so I may need to take things a bit slower.
“Chess has been a good measure for me, an indicator on any given day of how I’m doing. I think it’s important to talk about this – anything that increases awareness of the brain injury involved in a stroke is a good thing.”
Before his stroke, Holmes had been a regular presence in the club’s teams during the 20024/25 season. He played 26 times that season – including eight appearances for Shrewsbury B as they won division three and 16 games for the club’s two rapidplay league teams.
His last league match was a victory against Darwinian Knights Junior in April 2025, and his final appearance for the club that season was in the Minor Knockout in May when he was defeated by Steve Rooney of Church Stretton A.
For more information about the effects a stroke can have and the work being done behind the scenes, visit the Stroke Association’s website – www.stroke.org.uk
Holmes’ first appearance of the season was one of the highlights in a manic Tuesday evening that saw three of the club’s teams in action – two on the road and one in cyberspace.
Shrewsbury C made it two wins in a row with a very convincing 4-0 win away to a youthful Newport Rooks to catapult themselves into the top two in Shropshire Chess League division three.
But Holmes’ Shrewsbury D side found themselves outgunned by local rivals Darwinian Knights C and on the wrong end of a 4-0 whitewash in the same division.
There was further despair for Shrewsbury Pirates, as an unfortunate top board default from captain Olusegun Ilesanmi led to a half-point penalty that ultimately saw them slip to a narrow defeat to Uxbridge 2 in 4NCL Online division four.
C team captain Ben Howells made just one change to the team that defeated Newport B 3-1, with Richard Vernon replacing Dave Walton on board two.
And the team proved two strong for the youngsters – Ian Davies, Vernon, Howells and Chris Warrilow all won to wrap the match up within an hour.
In contrast, the Ds named a completely different four-man team from the narrow defeat to Maddocks Junior.
After Holmes was beaten by Billington on board two, Tom Osenton lost with the white pieces against Shane Sweeney on board three.
Patrick Fitch lost a knight for a pawn in the middlegame against John Bashall on top board and there was no way back, while Lee Holyoake came off second best against Martin Ayres on bottom board.
For the Pirates, with much of the regular squad in league action, captain Ilesanmi and A team player Peter Kitchen were drafted into the side to face an Uxbridge 2 side that looked considerably weaker on paper.
Kitchen got his side off to a flyer by checkmating Michael McTernan in 23 moves on board two, but Pedro Perez Dominguez lost to Pranav Navaneeth on bottom board.
By this stage, it was clear Ilesanmi’s game had not started and it later transpired that he had been significantly held up at work.
Tony Purser was struggling an exchange down against Nicolas Bryon on board three, but turned things round spectacularly, queening a pawn and winning the game.
But with top board lost and a half-point penalty imposed for the default, it meant the Pirates slipped to a 2-1.5 loss.
Full scores (Shrewsbury colours in brackets):
Newport Rooks 0-4 Shrewsbury C
1.George Lough 0-1 Ian Davies (w)
2.G. Harlem 0-1 Richard Vernon (b)
3.Aarian Narang 0-1 Dafydd Howells (w)
4.Tanviha Rayini 0-1 Chris Warrilow (b)
Average ratings – Newport Rooks: 1210 ECF*; Shrewsbury C: 1366 ECF.
*Two Newport players unrated
Darwinian Knights C 4-0 Shrewsbury D
1.John Bashall 1-0 Patrick Fitch (w)
2.Paul Billington 1-0 Nick Holmes (b)
3.Shane Sweeney 1-0 Tom Osenton (w)
4.Martin Ayres 1-0 Lee Holyoake (b)
Average ratings – Darwinian Knights C: 1446 ECF; Shrewsbury D: 1415 ECF.
Uxbridge 2-1.5 Shrewsbury Pirates
1.Yughan Balaji 1-def Olusegun Ilesanmi (b)
2.Michael McTernan 0-1 Peter Kitchen (w)
3.Nicolas Bryon 0-1 Tony Purser (b)
4.Praneev Navaneeth 1-0 Pedro Perez Dominguez (w)
Average ratings – Uxbridge 2: 1062 ECF; Shrewsbury Pirates: 1594 ECF.