Shrewsbury B’s league season got off to a bad start with a heavy 4-1 reverse at home to Telepost C.
Despite looking a close match on paper, with board four featuring two players with identical gradings and just one point separating the players on board two, the visitors took control of the match early on and never really looked like relinquishing their grip on the match.
Things started badly for Shrewsbury when new captain Matt Best dropped the exchange and a pawn in a promising position against Charles Micallef, leading to his resignation ten moves or so later when Micallef forced multiple exchanges to leave him with a clearly won position.
Things then started to look up when Andrew Lewis scored a creditable draw against James Kingston on board 5, leaving the match relatively close heading into the final half hour.
However, Dan Lockett succumbed to Peter Crean’s pressure on top board before Mark Smith’s defeat at the hands of Crean the younger (Vinnie) secured the points for Telepost, having dropped an exchange in a similar fashion to Best in a reasonable position.
The final game to finish was on board three, with the wily Norman O’Connor sacrificing a piece in order to get some pressure against John Westhead – it paid off as he was able to get a draw as the clocks ticked down.
Shrewsbury B 1-4 Telepost C
- Dan Lockett 0-1 Peter Crean
- Mark Smith 0-1 Vinnie Crean
- Norman O’Connor 0.5-0.5 John Westhead
- Matt Best 0-1 Charles Micallef
- Andrew Lewis 0.5-0.5 James Kingston