Shrewsbury C are facing an uphill fight to avoid finishing bottom of Shropshire Online Chess League division two – despite two battling displays against top half sides in recent weeks.
The C’s lost 2-1 to Newport Juniors before gaining a creditable 1.5-1.5 draw with Oswestry C. It comes ahead of a key intra-club derby with promotion-chasing Shrewsbury B, which took place on Tuesday this week (June 7).
Despite their efforts, the C’s are bottom of the table with just two fixtures to go, a point adrift of Telepost D. The next trio of sides up the table – Telepost B, Telepost C and Newport A – all have games in hand on the C’s.
Meanwhile, the B’s know the 2.5-0.5 win in this week’s derby will put them on the cusp of the league title, as it would leave Telford having to win all their six remaining games to overhaul them.
The C’s have performed strongly this season, with three wins and two draws from their 14 matches so far. The side has often been outgraded and has provided opportunities for less experienced players to get some much needed games time.
One of these is Richard Vernon, who picked up his third online league win of the season by defeating Jennifer Greenwood on bottom board in the loss to Newport Juniors.
But the Juniors’ in form pair of rising stars Daniel Hilditch-Love and Thalia Holmes ensured there would be no upset by defeating Shrewsbury’s Norman O’Connor and tony Purser on the remaining boards.
Against Oswestry C, Shrewsbury benefited from a top board default t take the lead. But Vernon lost to Alf Evans on bottom board, and Purser drew with Jonathan Smith to ensure the spoils would be shared.