Shrewsbury Chess Club

Shrewsbury B got their league campaign off to a flying start by comfortably beating Telford C 3-1 Captain Richard Vernon, David Edwards and Ivor Salter all won relatively swiftly to help the Bs to victory in their Shropshire Chess League division three opener at Cromwell’s Tap House, writes Peter Kitchen. New signing Nick Holmes fell to defeat against Andy Jones on top board, but the destination of the points had long since been decided. The victory sets up Vernon’s team nicely for this week’s home clash with Newport B – who themselves got off to a great start by beating Newport Junior 4-0. Vernon’s victory was a particularly sweet one…

Last Sunday saw Shrewsbury playing in the Shropshire Quickplay event, held at Maddocks. With each player having just 15 minutes to play his or her moves, this allowed for a marathon day of chess between the six competing teams. Although we didn’t win, there were some interesting games. Mark Smith scored best for the team over those 10 rounds, but the best game finish has to go to Charles Higgie with his win in round 6. You can view the full game in our interesting games section.

Richard Vernon and his Shrewsbury B side will lead the club into the new Shropshire Chess League season when they host Telford C on Wednesday. The division three encounter at Cromwell’s Tap House will be the club’s first foray into league action of the campaign – one where it is hoped the club will be able to blood some new faces and welcome some new arrivals, writes Peter Kitchen. The B team will then face a double header against Newport sides, hosting Newport B on October 2 before travelling to face Newport Junior B six days later. Shrewsbury A must wait until October 3 to start their division one campaign,…

A new leadership group have been unveiled to take Shrewsbury Chess Club forward for the coming year. Peter Kitchen, David Edwards and Stephen Priestley were voted in as secretary, treasurer and club championship organiser respectively at the club’s annual general meeting. While it marks the start of what is hoped will be a bright future for the club, it does represent the end of an era with previous incumbents Mark Smith, Ivor Salter and Tony Purser stepping down from their roles after many years of continuous service. The club would like to place on record its thanks to all three of them for their sterling work, which included keeping the…

Captain Dan Lockett admits he has “mixed feelings” about Shrewsbury A’s reprieve from relegation – but is hopeful his side can be more competitive in division one of Shropshire Chess League in the coming campaign. The club’s first team skipper said he believed difficulties in getting a full-strength team out on a consistent basis contributed to an alarming drop off in form that saw the A team win one and lose nine of their final 10 matches to finish six points adrift of safety, writes Peter Kitchen. But with potential new signings due to be confirmed imminently, Lockett believes the team can make a strong bid to finish with their…

Shrewsbury A have been handed a reprieve from relegation – meaning the club will continue to be represented in the top flight of Shropshire Chess League for another season. Dan Lockett’s side had been expecting to line up in division two this coming season having finished second bottom in division one last season with just four points, writes Peter Kitchen. But with Maddocks B having declined promotion from the second tier, Shrewsbury have been offered – and accepted – the chance to keep their place at the top table. The club also hopes to announce some new signings very shortly to help bolster the squad for the coming season, with…

Peter Kitchen and Stephen Priestley have been named joint winners of this year’s Club Championship. Priestley will share the trophy for the second successive year, while for Kitchen this ends 13 years of hurt – this is the third time he has won the tournament but the first since 2011. Both players finished a tense and closely-fought tournament on 4/5, with Priestley’s final round win over David Edwards enabling him to catch long-time leader and top seed Kitchen, who drew a fascinating struggle with second seed Olusegun Ilesanmi. The two players had drawn a tight game in round two, and tournament organiser Tony Purser this week declared the pair as…

Shrewsbury Chess Club recently held a special evening to say goodbye to club stalwart Francis Best with a social gathering and buffet at Cromwell’s in Dogpole, ahead of Francis’s move away from the area. Francis has been a key figure in the club’s A team over the past 25 years, including being part of two title-winning teams, captaining the team for a number of years and regularly playing on board one, where he excelled last season. He also held key roles on Shropshire Chess Association’s committee and has been heavily involved with junior chess in the area, including his work in recent years with Shropshire Junior Chess Club. He will…

Shrewsbury Chess Club is delighted to confirm it has secured a new town centre venue as its home. The club will hold league matches and club nights at Cromwell’s Tap House, effective immediately. Members will continue to meet at 7.30pm on Wednesdays for the immediate future, with ideas in the pipeline for further activities to increase local interest in the game during the summer months. People of all ages and abilities are being actively invited to attend club nights, starting from this Wednesday (May 29), where a warm welcome will be assured. The move follows the recent club extraordinary general meeting, called after it emerged our previous venue Albert &…

In the online league this evening, Shrewsbury C managed to snatch a draw at the death against table-toppers Oswestry C writes Rob Green. With regular Board 1, Norman O’Connor unavailable, captain Richard Vernon drafted in Robert Green to top board.  Vernon’s game with Alf Evans was first to finish.  Playing the white side of a Sicilian, Vernon found himself suffocated for space early on, but recovered to give himself long term prospects with a pawn majority on the queenside.  Evans, though, took advantage of Vernon prematurely bringing his king into the game, a flurry of exchanges leading to a Rook versus Queen endgame, which Vernon resigned. On board 1, Green…