Ivor Salter produced the shock of a night as Shrewsbury B once again held the club’s A team to a draw in division one of Shropshire Online Chess League.
Salter made up a 250-point grading difference to shock Peter Kitchen with the black pieces on board three. With the top two boards finishing as draws, it was enough to ensure the B team drew with their supposedly-superior colleagues for the second time this season.
Once again, it was the B’s who might have pinched the victory, as Dan Lockett was fortunate to defeat Richard Vernon on bottom board.
The result did little to help either side’s cause, with the A team losing ground to the two Oswestry teams and the B team remaining bottom of the table.
Salter emerged from the opening on board three with a difficult position and under pressure from Kitchen. But he fought back strongly in the centre, and a fatal slip by Kitchen enabled a tactical blow that netted Salter an exchange and a pawn that proved enough for victory.
It was a fine moment for Salter – affectionately nicknamed “Ivor the Terrible” on the club’s WhatsApp group – coming just a day after he endured a difficult Shropshire Chess Congress that saw him draw one and lose three of his games in the Intermediate section.
He had also come close to beating Kitchen in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, eventually having to settle for a draw despite enjoying the better of the game.
Elsehere, in the final game to finish the B team’s Stephen Priestley set a corking trap on move 43 of a rook and bishop ending that the A team captain did well to avoid. See the game – a finely balanced struggle – at https://lichess.org/jp6ie7el/black for details.
B team captain Mark Smith did well to hold the A’s Nathanael Paul on top board – although he was a little fortunate that his opponent took a draw by repetition and missed the chance to force a favourable ending.
Lockett stumbled into an extremely cramped position on the black side of a Pirc against Vernon on bottom board. But Vernon let his advantage slip amid mutual inaccuracies as the position opened up. Ultimately Lockett’s passed b-pawn proved too hot to handle, and cost Vernon a rook and the game.
Full results (colours and Lichess handles in brackets)
Shrewsbury B 2-2 Shrewsbury A
1. Mark Smith (marksmith77) (b) 0.5-0.5 Nathanael Paul (natpaul) (w)
2. Stephen Priestley (Casimir71) (w) 0.5-0.5 Francis Best (ephpeebee) (b)
3. Ivor Salter (Mr_Ivor) (b) 1-0 Peter Kitchen (JournoPete83) (w)
4. Richard Vernon (vernalobos) (w) 0-1 Dan Lockett (Silurian Dan) (b)
Both teams are next in action against defending champions Oswestry A – the B team on February 6 and the A team seven days later.