Shrewsbury’s B and C teams both inched closer to their season’s targets with hard fought victories within a day of each other. Both opposition teams had their parallels, too, with Telepost C (against whom the B team played) and Newport Juniors both rooted to the bottom of their divisions having lost all their games so far this season.
However, despite this, and the fact that they enjoyed a considerable grading advantage on all boards, Matt Best’s B team were made to work very hard for the victory. Things started badly as Ivor Salter went wrong in the opening against Shane Sweeney on board 5. After losing a Rook in return for a couple of Pawns in a high-speed game, Ivor was only ever really delaying the inevitable as he advanced his Pawns in hope of a counter, and he ended up being forced into a mating net in the middle of the board, leaving the visitors with a deficit to cut.
It was some time before the conclusion of the next game, which, when it came, was the board three encounter between the rapidly improving Kate Walker and Norman O’Connor. Norman, like Ivor grabbed a Pawn or two early on, albeit without conceding his rook in return, and took control of the game with his Bishop pair dominating Kate’s Bishop and Knight. Norman gave back one of the two Pawns in order to force through his central passed Pawn, leading to a forced victory after finishing with a flourish thanks to a subtle Rook move.
There was, again, a little while before the next result. On board two, Matt countered Francis Rooney’s London system with a Dutch set up, opting to sacrifice a Pawn to create attacking chances, establish central control, contain Francis’ dark squared Bishop and try to escape the tedium that so often accompanies the euphemistically called “solid” London system. It worked, for a while, until Matt went wrong with his move order, giving Francis a slight edge. Both players missed tactics for Francis to win a second Pawn and free his still caged Bishop, but ultimately Matt was able to win back his Pawn, and the position simplified down to a drawn Knight and Pawn endgame.
That meant that the scores were still level with just two games to go. Yet again, there was an interlude between games finishing as the tension rose. On bottom board, Andrew Lewis looked to have a tricky position on his hands against John Casewell, fighting from a Pawn down. Top board, where Daniel Lockett was facing Charles Micallef, looked fairly tedious, with Daniel’s more active Rook giving him control in a blocked-up position and Queens swapped off. In the end, though, some patient manoeuvering from Dan paid off as he won two Pawns, swapped Knights off and forced home the advantage, despite a nervy moment when he blundered one of the Pawns back! The win takes him to 17 without defeat in league play, equalling Andrew’s record from just a few weeks ago.
That meant that for Shrewsbury to win the match, all that was required was for Andrew to do what he does best and get a draw. He started well, winning back the Pawn and securing a significant time advantage. Things then got even better when John lost a piece attempting an ill-advised Zwischenzug, leaving Andrew with a won position. He had, however, surrendered his advantage on the clock, going behind on time with less that 5 minutes left for both players. As is his wont, he played it safe and took the draw, securing the match and all but guaranteeing Shrewsbury B’s survival in the second division for another season.
The C team, at least, made slightly less hard work of their fixture. Although captain Ian Davies suffered a surprise defeat on top board, Andrew – playing his second fixture in as many days – Tony Purser and stand-in Fred Harris all won to seal the points and keep the bid for a top 2 spot intact.
Shrewsbury B 3-2 Telepost C
- D. Lockett 1-0 C. Micallef
- M. Best ½-½ F. Rooney
- N. O’Connor 1-0 K. Walker
- I. Salter 0-1 S. Sweeney
- A. Lewis ½-½ J. Casewell
Shrewsbury C 3-1 Newport Juniors
- I. Davies 0-1 D. Holmes
- A. Lewis 1-0 E. Maydew
- A. Purser 1-0 Z. Maydew
- F. Harris 1-0 B. Hudson