Shrewsbury Chess Club

Tony Purser claimed one of the biggest scalps of his chess-playing career – but it wasn’t enough to spare Shrewsbury B from defeat against defending Shropshire Online Chess League champions Oswestry A. Purser – a veteran of the club’s B and C teams in the second and third divisions of the local over-the-board leagues for several years – shocked one of the county’s elite by checkmating Brian Whyte in their board three encounter, writes Peter Kitchen. But the reigning champions still prevailed 2.5-1.5 to open up a small gap at the top of the online league division one table – and leave Shrewsbury B mired in a relegation scrap with…

Shrewsbury C have risen to second place in Shropshire Online Chess League division two after securing three points from two matches in the space four days against Newport A. Richard Vernon’s team drew the first encounter between the sides, before claiming a convincing 2.5-0.5 triumph in the reverse fixture, writes Peter Kitchen. It means the C’s have leapfrogged Newport to lie second in the table, three points adrift of long-time leaders Telford A having played a game more. The top two teams will meet on Tuesday (March 14), with Shrewsbury needing a win to give themselves any hope of an unlikely last-gasp tilt at the title. Newport’s first team is…

Shrewsbury Chess Club and the wider county chess-playing community has been left saddened by the death of former club member Ray Cox. Ray was a key part of one of the most successful periods in the club’s history, being part of Shropshire Chess League title-winning sides four times in the early to mid 1970s. He was also club secretary for a spell during this time. Ray had started playing chess as a junior during the late 1950s, and played at a high level for the club and for Shropshire’s first team through the 1960s and 1970s. He was part of the Shrewsbury squad that won the Shropshire league in 1971,…

Robert Green and Ian Davies sprang surprises by clinching results against higher-rated players in the opening round of Shrewsbury Club Championship. Green beat Ivor Salter with the black pieces, while Davies produced a solid, stubborn display on the white side of a Colle to hold first team player Peter Kitchen to a draw. Top seed Nathanael Paul was also given a huge fright by Norman O’Connor before winning on time. While the remainder of the first round ties went with the form book, the results are a sign of just how competitive the club championship is and how ratings mean very little when club players face each other, writes Peter…

Father-and-son duo Francis and Matt Best made their own claim for a little piece of history as they lined up at the top of the order for Shrewsbury A’s much-needed 2.5-1.5 win over Shropshire Online Chess League champions Oswestry A. The Bests were named as Shrewsbury’s board one and two – possibly the first time such a pair has been named on the top two boards for the first team in the club’s long history stretching back more than 100 years, writes Peter Kitchen. Unfortunately the occasion was somewhat dampened by Matt – making his first appearance of the season for the club – not getting a game as he…

A big week lies ahead for Shrewsbury B after a battling display was not enough to spare Mark Smith’s side from defeat to reigning Shropshire Online League champions Oswestry A. Despite being heavily outgraded on all boards, the B’s gave it everything and pushed their opponents all the way before slipping to a 3-1 defeat, writes Peter Kitchen. Top boards Mark Smith and Stephen Priestley impressively held Charles Lowick Higgie and Mehmet Altinsoy to draws. But Oswestry’s great depth told on the bottom two boards as both Ivor Salter and Richard Vernon were beaten. The B team remains embroiled in a battle with Telepost A at the bottom of the…

A hard-fought 3-2 win over Maddocks B helped to put further daylight between Shrewsbury A and the drop zone and solidify their mid-table position in Shropshire Chess League division one. The triumph was only the county town side’s second win of the season in the over-the-board league and their first since an opening day win in October, writes Peter Kitchen. But Francis Best’s side have only lost one of their six league fixtures to ensure they are riding higher than expected in the table – the Maddocks win initially put them into the top three, and they now lie fourth, level on points with rivals Telepost A. Wins for Best…

Round 2 pairings have now been posted. These games need to be completed by Friday 10th March to obtain the half point incentive. See the “Club Championship” tab for more details.

A re-jig of the line-up helped Shrewsbury C beat Oswestry C 2-1 to close the gap between the two sides in Shropshire Online Chess League division two. Robert Green celebrated being promoted to top board with a smooth victory over Steve Tulett, while captain Richard Vernon built on getting his first over-the-board result last week by defeating Alf Evans on board three – his first classical online win since June. Tony Purser lost to Jonathan Smith with the black pieces in a see-saw battle on board two, writes Peter Kitchen. Thanks to Newport A’s surprise win over leaders Telford A, Shrewsbury’s win wasn’t enough to move them off the foot…

After almost two-and-a-half hours of hard-fought play, Richard Vernon’s reaction to being offered a draw was truly decisive. Sitting back straight in his seat, he looked his opponent Gary Slegg in the eye, and said very firmly, “Yes!” But this was no ordinary result for Vernon – it was the Shrewsbury player’s first result other than defeat at the 11th time of asking, writes Peter Kitchen. It had been a long time coming. Since his first game for Shrewsbury – a loss to Oswestry’s James Joyson on March 11th last year – Vernon had played 10 over-the-board games either for the club or in individual competitions – and lost the…