Shrewsbury A’s Shropshire Chess League division one campaign started with a narrow loss at home to Newport A.
The hosts recovered from going behind early on to pull level thanks to Stephen Priestley’s win over Danny Griffiths on bottom board, writes Peter Kitchen.
But new captain Dan Lockett lost the final game of the night against Joe Greenwood to condemn Shrewsbury to a 3-2 defeat against last season’s runners up.
It was a frustrating start for the A team in what looks likely to be a transitional season. Lockett’s team lined up without Nathanel Paul following his departure and switch back across town to Telepost, while regular first teamer Peter Kitchen was also unavailable.
Robert Green and Stephen Priestley came into the side on the bottom two boards and performed well, claiming one-and-a-half of the two points Shrewsbury won on the night.
Newport themselves were without regular board one Nick Rutter and club stalwart Stuart Ross as they looked to go one better than the 2.5-2.5 draw in the same fixture in the spring that closed the book on last season.
With both sides below full strength, the evening got off to a rocky start for Shrewsbury when Mark Smith lost swiftly to Ian Jamieson with the white pieces on board two after overlooking a tactic that cost him significant material.
But Priestley levelled matters against Griffiths, after pressure built up against his opponent over several moves finally paid dividends.
Green at one point had an extra exchange and a pawn on the white side of a Pirc against Phil Love. But a couple of inaccuracies allowed Love some counterplay and he was able to force a draw with some menacing threats against Green’s king.
It proved to be a pivotal moment, as the match then swung Newport’s way. Francis Best found himself under pressure for much of the night against Chris Lewis on top board after an ill-advised decision to allow his opponent to exchange off a passive bishop for Best’s strong knight, and Lewis sacrificed a pawn for a dangerous-looking attack.
Meanwhile, Lockett had won a pawn early on against Greenwood but then had to give up an exchange to end up in an inferior position.
With the clock ticking down, Lewis simplified into a drawn ending knowing that it would probably be enough to clinch the match. That proved to be the case when Lockett finally resigned against Greenwood.
Lockett said: “In summary, although we were a weakened team – as they were to be honest – it was a close match and it could easily have been 3-2 to us.”
Full scores:
Shrewsbury A 2-3 Newport A (Shrewsbury colours in brackets)
1. Francis Best (b) 0.5-0.5 Chris Lewis
2. Mark Smith (w) 0-1 Ian Jamieson
3. Dan Lockett (b) 0-1 Joe Greenwood
4. Robert Green (w) 0.5-0.5 Phil Love
5. Stephen Priestley (b) 1-0 Danny Griffiths
Lockett’s team must now pick themselves up for the daunting-looking trip to Maddocks A on Thursday (October 12).