Makeshift team competes well at quickplay despite late withdrawals

A new-look Shrewsbury A side secured a competitive third place finish at the annual Shropshire Chess Association team quickplay.

Despite none of last season’s A team being available and the squad being hit by three withdrawals in the 48 hours before the event, the club’s side performed respectably in the Open category, writes Peter Kitchen.

But two narrow 3-2 defeats to closest rivals Maddocks A saw Shrewsbury finish third, a long way adrift of runaway winners Newport A.

Ex-Telepost duo Nigel Ferrington and Phil Zabrocki made their competitive debuts for the club at the tournament, which was held at Maddocks Social Club in Oakengates, while Ray Sayers joined “on loan” from Church Stretton to provide a strong-looking top order.

The unavoidable withdrawals meant the club’s B team planned for the Minor (U1450 ECF) tournament had to withdraw. Stephen Priestley was unavailable on MCCU duty for Herefordshire, while Ben Howells fell ill on the morning of the tournament.

Nick Holmes – who had only made his first return to a club night four days previously as he recovers from serious illness – had bravely put himself forward for duty. But after a rough night he wisely prioritised his health and stood down.

But that gave Kate Beard and Richard Beard the opportunity to gain experience against stronger opposition on boards four and five for the A team. Nick Nuthall was loaned to Maddocks A for the event and Paula Sharp – initially loaned from Darwinian Knights for the Minor team – transferred to Maddocks Juniors in that competition.

Shrewsbury, who were captained on the day by Ferrington, made a good start with a 4-1 win against a Darwinian Knights A side that would eventually finish fourth and bottom of the table. But a narrow defeat against Maddocks A and a heavy 5-0 loss at the hands of Newport A saw them lose vital ground.

A 3-2 win in the return over Darwinian steadied the ship, only for the side to end with another 3-2 loss to Maddocks and a 3.5-1.5 loss to winners Newport A – who forebodingly had four rapidly-improving juniors in their ranks alongside Nick Rutter.

Intriguingly, in both Maddocks games Nuthall won against his parent club – defeating Kate Beard on both occasions on board four. Without those results, the As would have had a strong chance of finishing second.

Sayers was the team’s top performer with an impressive 4.5/6 on board two, while Ferrington and Zabrocki both scored 3.5/6 on boards one and three.

Club officials would like to thank everyone who turned out to represent the club, and also extend thanks to the organisers Connor Oswin and Chris Lewis for putting on the event.