Team captains at Shrewsbury Chess Club are facing a challenge – as they attempt to fill squads for five match nights in the space of nine days.
Competitive fixtures in Shropshire’s over-the-board, rapidplay and online leagues have been lined up for the club’s teams – and with a smaller pool of players to pick from filling those teams will be no mean feat.
It will represent a hectic start to the new season after months of inactivity over the extended summer break.
The run of matches will start on Monday night with an intra-club derby between Shrewsbury A and Shrewsbury B in Shropshire Online Chess League division one – while some club players may also be involved in 4NCL Online action for Shropshire and Friends the following night.
It will be followed by the first Shropshire Rapidplay League evening on Wednesday at Telford, where the club has three fixtures to fulfil.
Then on Friday, Shrewsbury A will host Telepost A at the Nerdy Café in one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the season – the county town derby in Shropshire Chess League division one.
As if that wasn’t enough, Shrewsbury C will play Oswestry C in division two of the online league on November 15 and Shrewsbury B will then face Telepost A in the online top flight 24 hours later.
Players have been asked to inform team captains Francis Best, Mark Smith and Richard Vernon of their availability for the relevant fixtures, and those who have not yet done so are urged to make their availability known.
Meanwhile, Shrewsbury C were well beaten by a strong Telford A side in their opening online league division two fixture, despite putting up a brave fight.
Vernon’s first match as captain ended in a 3-0 defeat as their vastly experienced opponents from down the A5 proved too powerful.
Tony Purser was outplayed by Mark Keady on top board, and Will Apted fell victim to a tactic early on against Roger Brown on board two before falling to defeat.
It was a similar story on bottom board, where Vernon missed a tactical trick by the wily Richard Thompson that ultimately led to his downfall.
Full scores:
Telford A 3-0 Shrewsbury C (Shrewsbury colours on brackets)
1.Mark Keady 1-0 Tony Purser (w)
2.Roger Brown 1-0 Will Apted (b)
3.Richatrd Thompson 1-0 Richard Vernon (w)