Shrewsbury A led twice but were pegged back each time and ultimately forced to settle for a 2.5-2.5 draw against Telepost B.
Peter Kitchen and Mark Smith each put Shrewsbury ahead with the white pieces in the Shropshire Chess League division one match at the Nerdy Café.
But Dan Lockett lost a wild game against James Holyhead on bottom board, and in the deciding game Nathanael Paul agonisingly lost on time to Dan Hilditch-Love in a complicated ending on top board, writes Peter Kitchen.
Despite the initial disappointment at not quite getting over the line, Shrewsbury remain unbeaten in the league three games into the season – a vast improvement on last season’s fortunes.
Shrewsbury made two changes from the derby draw against Telepost A two weeks ago, with Kitchen and captain Francis Best returning on boards two and three and Ian Davies and Richard Vernon dropping out. It was Kitchen’s first over-the-board appearance of the season and the first time all season that Shrewsbury had fielded a full-strength side.
Telepost made two changes from their 4-1 home loss to Newport A last time out, with Kate Walker and John Westhead coming into the team on boards two and four with Fred Bench and Steve Wilson missing out. Rob Nield was also unavailable.
It proved a tense night, as despite Shrewsbury enjoying rating advantages on every board each game was close – with four of the boards not finishing until after 10.30pm.
The first game to finish was on board two. Kitchen, playing on the white side of a Catalan, enjoyed a position with extra space against Walker, but was facing a position that was very solid and difficult to break down and was about half an hour down on the clock.
He managed to seize control of the d-file and keep asking questions of his opponent, and after Walker’s draw offer on move 28 was turned down matters quickly came to a head. Kitchen made a slight inaccuracy that could have allowed Walker a comfortable rook ending – but she in turn blundered, allowing Kitchen to break through on the kingside. Walker then instantly allowed a mate in one, meaning the game finished just four moves after the draw offer.
Next to finish was board three. Best struggled to make much headway against Steve Kempsell’s solid position, and despite continuing to push he eventually settled for a draw in a queen endgame.
Telepost then levelled the score when Holyhead triumphed in a crazy game on board five. Lockett grabbed a central pawn early on and happily sacrificed a knight, believing he would get three pawns in return. But he was only able to secure two, and despite building up a fearsome-looking initiative on the queenside and getting his rooks to the seventh rank there was always a danger that Holyhead’s forces could spring into action.
As both players’ clocks ran down that is exactly what happened – as Lockett pushed forwards he left gaps to exploit, which Holyhead did to bring home the full point.
Yet moments later Shrewsbury’s lead was restored. Smith had built up a fine position against Westhead’s French Winawer, and won a pawn early in the middlegame. He then gave a masterful demonstration of exploiting the superiority of his bishop over Westhead’s knight in the ending to queen a pawn and win the game.
That left Shrewsbury on the cusp of victory, especially with the game on top board seemingly blocked up behind two walls of eight pawns and Telepost’s Hilditch-Love very short of time.
Even after Paul accidentally dropped an exchange there appeared little danger – but he then chose to open the position up to take advantage of his opponent’s time shortage.
This brought the game to life, and both players suddenly had opportunities in a complex position – now with both running short of time.
Unfortunately, a moment’s hesitation from Paul saw his clock fall as he made his move – squaring the match one final time.
The result was something of a coup for Hilditch-Love as he was outgraded by almost 300 ECF points. After the game Nathanael was full of praise for Dan’s performance, saying he played a “very good game” and had pressured him well throughout.
The result leaves Shrewsbury fourth in the seven-team division one table, while Telepost were able to take comfort from securing their first point of the season. Shrewsbury’s final match before Christmas will be the trip to Newport A on December 6.
Full scores:
Shrewsbury A 2.5-2.5 Telepost B (Shrewsbury colours in brackets)
1.Nathanael Paul (b) 0-1 (time) Dan Hilditch-Love
2.Peter Kitchen (w) 1-0 Kate Walker
3.Francis Best (b) 0.5-0.5 Steve Kempsell
4.Mark Smith (w) 1-0 John Westhead
5.Dan Lockett (b) 0-1 James Holyhead