Shrewsbury Chess Club can look forward to 2022 with optimism after ending a difficult 2021 on a high, writes Peter Kitchen.
The club’s A and B team currently lie top of the two Shropshire online chess leagues, while the club’s over-the-board team is punching above its weight in Shropshire Chess League division one.
The club has also secured a new venue for OTB chess at the Nerdy Café in Shrewsbury town centre, with more club nights hopefully in the pipeline after a successful launch night in December. There has also been interest from potential new members in recent weeks, due in part to the new venue and a fresh impetus to promote the club both online and on social media.
It marks a solid foundation to build from in the new year, albeit the club’s teams are already arguably somewhat over-achieving.
But it does demonstrate the progress made during a tricky and trying 2021, when the club felt the effect of the loss of a number of top players and saw results fall off a cliff, especially for the A team in an ultra-competitive Shropshire Online Chess League division one.
Last season the As drew one and lost 11 of their 12 league fixtures, all played online due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the same team heads into 2022 top of the online league with two wins from three matches.
Despite being expected to struggle in the top flight as over-the-board chess returned for 2021/22, a memorable derby triumph at Telepost A has helped haul Shrewsbury off the foot of the division one table.
In recent years the club has lost the services of key players, felt most keenly by the death of club stalwart David Everington in December 2020. The likes of Jamie Hopkins, Olusegun Ilesanmi, Harvey and James Birch and Ted Eales are all not currently playing for the club having played key roles in previous years, while Matt Best’s involvement has also been limited due to other commitments.
But a core of players have remained to help give any team a decent match, despite at times being heavily outgraded.
The club currently only has one OTB team and it is not yet known when OTB league chess will resume after being suspended in mid-December. But the club’s B and C team players are getting valuable game time in division two of the online league – and are back in action this week.
Shrewsbury C will be the “away” team against Telepost D on Tuesday, while Shrewsbury B will face Newport A on Thursday. The games can be followed on Lichess.
Secretary Mark Smith said it was hoped a Zoom meting will be called for members next week to discuss future club nights, as the club heads into the new year with a sense of cautious optimism – both for the club’s future and the prospect of hopefully playing more chess.