Matchwinners hailed as A team overcomes “tricky” opening challenge
Shrewsbury A overcame a “potentially tricky fixture” by defeating Oswestry A in their opening Shropshire Chess League division one outing, according to captain Dan Lockett.
Mark Smith and Shane Greenwood were the matchwinners as Shrewsbury edged to a deserved 3-2 victory – a fine start to the new campaign after the side received a reprieve from relegation last season, writes Peter Kitchen.
Lockett said his side’s two victors had made the difference in a tight match – and that the whole team had stepped up after the loss of last season’s top two boards Jamie Hopkins and Charles Lowick Higgie and the unavailability of Stephen Priestley.
Smith’s triumph over Paul Cozens on board four featured a spectacular sacrificial attack to give the hosts the lead. Greenwood showed nerves of steel when down to his final minute to finish off Mark Billington in a bishop ending in the deciding game on bottom board after Richard Bryant had equalised for the visitors.
Lockett named the strongest side available to him for Wednesday’s match, meaning Peter Kitchen stepped up to top board and Greenwood – named as one of the side’s four nominated players for the season for the first time – played on bottom board.
The visitors themselves featured a much-changed side, with regulars Rudy and Julie van Kemenade unavailable. Bob Clark came in on top board, along with Cozens and former Wellington player Mark Billington on bottom board.
It led for an interesting dynamic – Oswestry outgraded Shrewsbury on the top three boards and enjoyed a higher average rating, but were the underdogs on the bottom two boards.
The first game to finish was on board one. Kitchen adopted a very solid approach against Clark’s Reti Opening, and despite lacking space maintained a very strong defensive structure. Clark could make no progress, and offered a draw on move 29 which was accepted.
On board four, Smith invested a knight and a rook to rip apart the defences to Cozens’ king on the queenside. His opponent had to return his queen for the other rook to stave off the initial threats, but Smith’s pressure was relentless and resignation came on move 34.
In this position, Mark Smith’s chosen 17.Nb5! uncorked a series of sacrificial fireworks that led him to victory against Paul Cozens on board four.
At this stage, Shrewsbury were looking competitive on the remaining boards – both Lockett and Greenwood were a pawn up in their games while Olusegun Ilesanmi was locked in a tense battle with Richard Bryant on board two.
However, Ilesanmi erred and lost against Bryant to level the scores, and despite appearing to have chances Lockett had to settle for a draw against opposing skipper Adrian Bailey on board three. Lockett’s mood will not have improved when later computer analysis showed he had missed an opportunity to claim a clear advantage on move 12.
This left it all down to Greenwood on bottom board – and in a complex ending both players were running short of time. But Greenwood was able to create passed pawns on both wings, ultimately winning Billington’s bishop and with it the game. It was a tense watch with both players into their final minute of thinking time – but a crucial win that secured the match for Shrewsbury.
Speaking after the match, Lockett spoke of his delight at opening the campaign with a victory – especially considering the changes to the side over the summer.
He said: “It was really pleasing to get the new season off to a winning start.
“Being without the strong players we had on the top boards last year, it was a potentially tricky fixture. But Mark’s exciting win on board four and Shane’s calm win on board five under real time pressure were the difference this time around.”
Shrewsbury face two matches on the road next with trips to Telford A and Newport A in October, and Lockett said his side would have to hit the same standards every time to remain competitive.
“I am definitely hoping for more of the same next time around,” he said. “There aren’t going to be any easy matches.”
The A team will make the short journey down the A5 to face Telford A on October 8th.
Full scores (Shrewsbury colours in brackets)
Shrewsbury A 3-2 Oswestry A
1.Peter Kitchen (b) 0.5-0.5 Robert Clark
2.Olusegun Ilesanmi (w) 0-1 Richard Bryant
3.Dan Lockett (b) 0.5-0.5 Adrian Bailey
4.Mark Smith (w) 1-0 Paul Cozens
5.Shane Greenwood (b) 1-0 Mark Billington
Average ratings – Shrewsbury A: 1756 ECF, Oswestry A: 1789 ECF.