Shrewsbury Chess Club

Shrewsbury Chess Club’s first designated “social night” has been declared a massive success after more than 20 people crammed into the club’s playing room at Cromwell’s. Club stalwarts and recently signed-up members were among those who attended Wednesday’s event, which was aimed at helping to get all players get to know a bit more about the club and each other following an influx of new faces throughout 2025, writes Peter Kitchen. Club stalwarts and recently signed-up members were among those who attended Wednesday’s event, which was aimed at helping to get all players get to know a bit more about the club and each other following an influx of new…

Shrewsbury A’s stand-in players have been hailed for their contribution as the side goes through a challenging spell of results. David Edwards and Richard Vernon were both among the stand out players as the A team were well beaten 4-1 by Newport Junior A last time out, writes Peter Kitchen. Edwards came closer than anyone to winning a game as he pushed Malcolm Fletcher hard all night on board four, at one point missing a clear opportunity to win a piece before eventually seeing his attack fizzle out. And Vernon defended stubbornly in a difficult position against Mohanaditya Poluru on bottom board before eventually bowing to defeat. Vernon was a…

The aim of Wednesday night’s event is for long-standing and new club members to get to know a little more about each other – whether that’s about their chess-playing experiences or other aspects of life. There will of course be chess played too – but as we’ve had an influx of new faces in recent months we thought it would be a good chance for everyone to find out more about their fellow teammates. We hope to see as many of you as possible from 7.30pm

Shrewsbury Pirates slipped to their third 4NCL Online division four defeat in five games, as they slipped to a 3-1 loss to War & Piece Banner. The Pirates could only field three players after the named board three Richard Vernon was called up to play for Shrewsbury A against Newport Junior A on the same evening, writes Peter Kitchen. And in a match between two evenly-matched teams on paper, it proved to be a key difference as Shrewsbury were unable to claw back the deficit. The Pirates had not played for four weeks since their heavy defeat at the hands of Epsom Salties 2 in round three – they had…

Shrewsbury B will look to end the club’s apparent autumnal hoodoo at Newport when they bid to get their Shropshire Chess League division two campaign up and running. Richard Vernon’s side will travel to face Newport Junior B on Tuesday with both clubs searching for their first points of the season, writes Peter Kitchen. The match falls within an intriguing subplot between the two clubs. It will be the third week in the last four that Shrewsbury teams have travelled to Newport Royal British Legion – and Shrewsbury are yet to pick up a point from any of them. Shrewsbury A lost 5-0 against Newport A as Shrewsbury C went…

Shrewsbury C will hope the fourth time is the charm as they continue to search for their first Shropshire Chess League division three points of the season. Ben Howells’ side will host Newport Knights on Wednesday (November 5) looking to end a run of three straight defeats since the side’s reformation for this season, writes Peter Kitchen. That run included two defeats in the space of 24 hours against two of the division’s strongest sides in Newport B and Darwinian Knights C – a quirk of the fixture list that saw the rearranged Darwinian fixture placed in the same week as an existing fixture. But despite the defeats – 3.5-0.5…

A depleted Shrewsbury A were no match for early league leaders Newport A, crashing to a 5-0 defeat on a chastening night on their travels. A chronic availability shortage meant Dan Lockett’s side were only able to field four players. Things didn’t get any better over the board, as Newport’s superior class shone through and saw them win every game, writes Peter Kitchen. The result leaves Shrewsbury A in the lower half of the Shropshire Chess League division one table – and in need of a response when they return to Newport Royal British Legion Club next week to take on newly-promoted Newport Junior A. It was a tough night…

Peter Kitchen can still remember his first ever appearance in the Four Nations Chess League. It was November 2005, and Peter – who had only joined Shrewsbury Chess Club four months earlier – lined up on board five for Celtic Tigers’ first ever match. He drew with the black pieces against Graham Morris as his side lost 4.5-1.5 – but it was the start of something special for Peter’s side and an opportunity to compete regularly on the national stage for Peter. Fast forward 20 years and Peter is still playing for Celtic Tigers as one of his side’s founding members. The club, which has players from across Britain and…

Shrewsbury B will hope to use a local derby as a springboard to put their difficult start to life in Shropshire Chess League division two behind them. The B team will make the short trip up Abbey Foregate on Tuesday (October 28) to face a Darwinian Knights B side who have themselves made a stuttering start to the season, writes Peter Kitchen. It has been a fruitless start for the newly promoted Bs, who are bottom of the table without a point after two defeats in their opening two matches. But they will take great heart from the way an under-strength side was so competitive last time out against Church…

Shrewsbury C will this week play two fixtures in the space of 24 hours as they look to get their fledgling Shropshire Chess League division three season up and running. Ben Howells’ team will once again join their A team colleagues on Tuesday for a double header at Newport – the c team facing Newport B and the A team up against Newport A. Then the following night, the C team will play their rearranged opening fixture against Darwinian Knights C at Cromwell’s Tap House, writes Peter Kitchen. It’s a gruelling schedule so early in the season – and may well involve some squad rotation to ease the burden on…