C Team pull off cup shock

Shrewsbury C stunned high-flying Priorslee Lions B with a superb victory in the first round of the minor knockout.

Ian Davies’ side, without regulars Tony Purser and Eric Inglis, were bolstered by the availability of Matt Best to play on board three, although Fred Harris was not able to fill in on board four. However, the visitors (recently promoted to the first division after finishing second in the second tier) were also without several regulars, leading to them also only fielding three players and meant that the game would be decided over just three boards.

It looked like things were set off badly when B Team skipper Matt dropped a Knight against George Viszokai early on in the opening. Matt decided to attack furiously on the Queenside, throwing pawns forward as if there was no tomorrow. It opened up the game, won a pawn and ensured a slight initiative as George patiently reshuffled his pieces. However, the attack came to nothing as George forced the exchange of Queens (with a pair of rooks already off) and seemed to be growing into a strong position. At that point, Matt attempted to make things complicated with  a set of pins. It paid off, as two mistakes from George led to Matt firstly winning back the piece and then a rook to secure the win.

That meant the pressure was now on the visitors to score 75% from the remaining two games in order to progress through to the next round. That would prove difficult – the captains’ game on board 2 between Ian Davies and Marvin Carbin looked to be heading in Ian’s favour as he won a pawn, had a superior pawn structure and was comfortably ahead on the clock. Although he did over-complicate and offered Marvin the opportunity to go a Bishop for two pawns up, Marvin understandably overlooked the critical move under time pressure leading to a tense endgame battle. Ultimately, Marvin’s more active King and rook proved sufficient compensation for the pawn deficit, and a draw was agreed.

That left Andrew Lewis needing just a draw against Graham Shepherd on top board to win the match for the hosts. In a tight position, Graham perhaps had a slight positional advantage to go with an extra quarter of an hour on the clock, before an error led to him losing a piece. In the knowledge that a draw would win the match, Andrew opted to play it safe and eradicate the possibility of defeat by settling for the half point, thus setting up an enticing quarter final clash at home to Ludlow.

Shrewsbury C 2-1 Priorslee Lions B

1. A. Lewis 0.5-0.5 G. Shepherd
2. I. Davies 0.5-0.5 M. Carbin
3. M. Best 1-0 G. Viszokai
4. Default 0-0 Default