A resounding win away at Wellington A means that it is just about certain that the A team will remain in division 1.
After losing two match on the trot at Priorslee Lions A and Newport A, the team bounced back with a 4.5-0.5 win at Wellington. Karl Wakefield started off with an early win when his opponent blundered and this was followed by a win for Trevor Brotherton on top board. On board 4, recent recuit Tiago Faustino had started the match with an unbeaten record in both A and B team games, but made life difficult for himself with a tangle of doubled pawns and misplaced pieces. But he has an eye for outplaying his opponents in what look like unpromising endgames and managed to pull off another win, sealing the mach for the away team. A win for Graham Shepherd on board five and a draw for Steve Rooney on two, finished the evening off in style.
With three tough matches left against three of the top four clubs, it was vital that we got some points at Wellington who were one of the teams that could have caught us up. Coming away with a win was a perfect result for us.
The previous match against Newport saw us without top board Trevor who was unwell, leaving Steve Rooney to take on county number one Nick Rutter who had a grading advantage of around 40 points. A long gruelling game resulted in what looked like a fairly level final position but the clock intervened and Nick won on time. Gavin Cooper on board two also proved too strong for Karl Wakefield but the other three boards saw welcome draws for Stretton players Tiago Faustino, Gerald Link and Graham Shepherd.
Priorslee Lions A 3-2 Church Stretton A
G Pugh 0.5-0.5 T Brotherton
W Bates 1-0 S Rooney
J O'Neil 1-0 K Wakefield
J Tunks 0-1 G Link
M Carbin 0.5-0.5 G Shepherd
Church Stretton A 1.5-3.5 Newport A
S Rooney 0-1 N Rutter
K Wakefield 0-1 G Cooper
T Faustino 0.5-0.5 N Paul
G Link 0.5-0.5 C Lewis
G Shepherd 0.5-0.5 D Griffiths
Wellington A 0.5-4.5 Church Stretton A
C Roberts 0-1 T Brotherton
T Neal 0.5-0.5 S Rooney
J Lenton 0-1 K Wakefield
D Powell 0-1 T Faustino
D Ogundipe 0-1 G Shepherd
Friday, 24 February 2012
Friday, 17 February 2012
B team still in the running
Church Stretton B still has an outside chance of promotion from division 3 after a 3-1 away win at Oswestry.
Since the new year the team has also beaten Telepost D 3-1 but went down by the margin to division 3 leaders Shifnal & Telford C. The team have three matches left in the season, including fixtures against two of the teams above them Newport b and Shrewsbury C.
Telepost D 1-3 Church Stretton B
S Sweeney 0-1 T Faustino
B Holford 0-1 F Rooney
G Lyon 0-1 A Thorpe
A Cliff 1-0 C Pimm-Jones
Church Stretton B 1-3 Shifnal & Telford C
T Faustino 0.5-0.5 S Maydew
E Elwell 0.5-0.5 R Brown
F Rooney 0-1 R Szwajkun
T Williamson 0-1 S Szwajkun
Oswestry B 1-3 Church Stretton B
R Thomson 0-1 T Faustino
J Davies 1-0 F Rooney
B Evans 0-1 T Williamson
A Evans 0-1 J Carless
Since the new year the team has also beaten Telepost D 3-1 but went down by the margin to division 3 leaders Shifnal & Telford C. The team have three matches left in the season, including fixtures against two of the teams above them Newport b and Shrewsbury C.
Telepost D 1-3 Church Stretton B
S Sweeney 0-1 T Faustino
B Holford 0-1 F Rooney
G Lyon 0-1 A Thorpe
A Cliff 1-0 C Pimm-Jones
Church Stretton B 1-3 Shifnal & Telford C
T Faustino 0.5-0.5 S Maydew
E Elwell 0.5-0.5 R Brown
F Rooney 0-1 R Szwajkun
T Williamson 0-1 S Szwajkun
Oswestry B 1-3 Church Stretton B
R Thomson 0-1 T Faustino
J Davies 1-0 F Rooney
B Evans 0-1 T Williamson
A Evans 0-1 J Carless
Thursday, 19 January 2012
A team grinds out win at Ludlow
A good start to the second half of the season with a win at Ludlow.
Just before Christmas we heard from a new recruit, Tiago, who had arrived in Stretton from Portugal and he looks like being a very useful player. We got him straight in the team and he played on board 4 against Ludlow and quickly snatched a win, but then had to wait a couple of hours for the rest of us.
Chris Pimm-Jones stood in for the team and got a well-earned draw on board 5 leaving the result hanging on the top three boards. Graham Shepherd was up on material but his opponent's troublesome passed pawns caused him problems and he resigned after a slip at the time control. Trevor Brotherton thought he had a slight edge in his endgame on board one but having won a very tight game in the last few seconds at the Shropshire Congress the previous weekend, he decided not to chance his luck again and agreed a draw. This left Steve Rooney who had seen off a deadly-looking attack early on and then won a piece, to clinch the match with a win on board 2.
Next up is Priorslee Lions on 23 January.
Ludlow A 2 Church Stretton 3
1 J Watson 0.5, T Brotherton 0.5
2 J Whittaker 0, S Rooney 1
3 J Lawley 1, G Shepherd 0
4 R Woodley 0, T Faustino 1
5 P Munday 0.5, C Pimm-Jones 0.5.
Just before Christmas we heard from a new recruit, Tiago, who had arrived in Stretton from Portugal and he looks like being a very useful player. We got him straight in the team and he played on board 4 against Ludlow and quickly snatched a win, but then had to wait a couple of hours for the rest of us.
Chris Pimm-Jones stood in for the team and got a well-earned draw on board 5 leaving the result hanging on the top three boards. Graham Shepherd was up on material but his opponent's troublesome passed pawns caused him problems and he resigned after a slip at the time control. Trevor Brotherton thought he had a slight edge in his endgame on board one but having won a very tight game in the last few seconds at the Shropshire Congress the previous weekend, he decided not to chance his luck again and agreed a draw. This left Steve Rooney who had seen off a deadly-looking attack early on and then won a piece, to clinch the match with a win on board 2.
Next up is Priorslee Lions on 23 January.
Ludlow A 2 Church Stretton 3
1 J Watson 0.5, T Brotherton 0.5
2 J Whittaker 0, S Rooney 1
3 J Lawley 1, G Shepherd 0
4 R Woodley 0, T Faustino 1
5 P Munday 0.5, C Pimm-Jones 0.5.
Monday, 19 December 2011
4th and 5th at Christmas
The unbeaten record for the B team fell in the final match before Christmas with a 2.5-1.5 loss to Newport C. The match got off to a quick start with a win for Francis Rooney on board 1 within 30 minutes. But Newport's junior Jonathan Newey levelled the score later on with a win on board 3 and after Adrian Thorpe lost on board 2, it was down to home captain Tom Williamson to try and win his match. Despite being an exchange up, Tom couldn't quite find a way through and agreed a draw which saw the team's first defeat of the season after five straight draws.
Meanwhile the A team suffered their third successive 4-1 defeat, this time at the hands of Shifnal & Telford A. Top board Trevor Brotherton was forced to pull out at the last minute which meant everyone shunted up a board and Eric Elwell valiantly turned out at short notice to play on board 5. The only win came for Graham Shepherd on board 4. It was always going to be a tough run-up to Christmas with the final three matches against strong sides, and the A team will be aiming to get a good start again when the second half of the season starts in January.
Meanwhile the A team suffered their third successive 4-1 defeat, this time at the hands of Shifnal & Telford A. Top board Trevor Brotherton was forced to pull out at the last minute which meant everyone shunted up a board and Eric Elwell valiantly turned out at short notice to play on board 5. The only win came for Graham Shepherd on board 4. It was always going to be a tough run-up to Christmas with the final three matches against strong sides, and the A team will be aiming to get a good start again when the second half of the season starts in January.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Another tough one
A second trip to Shrewsbury in five days saw the A team suffer its second successive 4-1 defeat. This time it was Telepost A who, although without some of their top players, managed to grind out four wins.
Earlier in the evening it looked as if we might get something from the match. Karl Wakefield chalked up yet another win on board three against John Bashall to put us in the lead but Graham Shepherd lost his game to equal the scores. Board five was a bit of a rollercoaster with Francis Rooney who had stepped up as A team reserve, in a battle against John Westhead. Francis' early clever tactic on h7 misfired when he got his bishop trapped but for the second successive game he managed to create lots of activity for his rook in the endgame and his two passed king side pawns eventually forced John to give back the piece. With just K and R v K, R and N, Francis turned down a draw as his opponent was perilously short of time. But in effort to keep the pressure up he moved a little too quickly himself, and fell foul of a knight fork which led to checkmate seconds before the flag fall.
This left boards one and two to finish, and both Trevor Brotherton on board one and Steve Rooney on two were well behind on the clock and eventually both lost on time.
It certainly felt a lot closer than a 4-1 defeat should, but it's the results that count! Onward to the final A team fixture before Christmas agains Shifnal Telford A on 8 December.
Earlier in the evening it looked as if we might get something from the match. Karl Wakefield chalked up yet another win on board three against John Bashall to put us in the lead but Graham Shepherd lost his game to equal the scores. Board five was a bit of a rollercoaster with Francis Rooney who had stepped up as A team reserve, in a battle against John Westhead. Francis' early clever tactic on h7 misfired when he got his bishop trapped but for the second successive game he managed to create lots of activity for his rook in the endgame and his two passed king side pawns eventually forced John to give back the piece. With just K and R v K, R and N, Francis turned down a draw as his opponent was perilously short of time. But in effort to keep the pressure up he moved a little too quickly himself, and fell foul of a knight fork which led to checkmate seconds before the flag fall.
This left boards one and two to finish, and both Trevor Brotherton on board one and Steve Rooney on two were well behind on the clock and eventually both lost on time.
It certainly felt a lot closer than a 4-1 defeat should, but it's the results that count! Onward to the final A team fixture before Christmas agains Shifnal Telford A on 8 December.
Monday, 21 November 2011
Double header at Shrewsbury
The A and B teams travelled to Shrewsbury for their latest league matches although it was only the B team that came away with any points.
A tough match was envisaged against the title holders and league leaders Shrewsbury A and a tough match is what we got. A very quick 'grandmaster' draw on board one between Trevor Brotherton and Jamie Hopkins gave Stretton half their total points with only Graham Shepherd getting a draw on board five, although Gerald Link battled hard to salage something but eventually lost his central isolated pawn and resigned in a lost king and pawn ending. Earlier Karl Wakefield had chased his opponent's king around the board but couldn't quite pin him down and eventually succumbed to a fork and lost the game. Least said about Steve Rooney's game the better!
The B team fared better and got their fourth draw from four matches! Captain Tom Williamson held his opponent Eric Inglis for a half point and Stretton moved into the lead when Adrian Thorpe's king-side attack broke through against Matthew Best. This left board one and four with Francis Rooney on top board trying to keep his rooks active enough to counter a two pawn deficit, and Chris Pimm-Jones on board four a piece up with a B and N against opponent's N.
It didn't end as expected though. Francis managed to stifle Ian Davies' pawn on the 7th rank and then started to pick up his opponent's pawns. With just a few minutes left on his clock, Ian offered the draw which was accepted by Francis, although by that point he may have been winning but was happy with the draw thinking that board five was safe. However disaster struck with another fork on bottom board that left both sides with K, N and 2 pawns. Chris slipped up in the final stages conceding the opposition and ending up facing K and two pawns against lone king. So 2-2 and yet another draw!
Shresbury A 4 Church Stretton A 1
J Hopkins 0.5, T Brotherton 0.5
D Everington 1, S Rooney 0
F Best 1, G Link 0
P Kitchen 1, K Wakefield 0
N O'Connor 0.5, G Shepherd 0.5
Shrewsbury C 2 Church Stretton B 2
I Davies 0.5, F Rooney 0.5
M Best 0, A Thorpe 1
E Inglis 0.5, T Williamson 0.5
A Purser 1, C Pimm-Jones 0
A tough match was envisaged against the title holders and league leaders Shrewsbury A and a tough match is what we got. A very quick 'grandmaster' draw on board one between Trevor Brotherton and Jamie Hopkins gave Stretton half their total points with only Graham Shepherd getting a draw on board five, although Gerald Link battled hard to salage something but eventually lost his central isolated pawn and resigned in a lost king and pawn ending. Earlier Karl Wakefield had chased his opponent's king around the board but couldn't quite pin him down and eventually succumbed to a fork and lost the game. Least said about Steve Rooney's game the better!
The B team fared better and got their fourth draw from four matches! Captain Tom Williamson held his opponent Eric Inglis for a half point and Stretton moved into the lead when Adrian Thorpe's king-side attack broke through against Matthew Best. This left board one and four with Francis Rooney on top board trying to keep his rooks active enough to counter a two pawn deficit, and Chris Pimm-Jones on board four a piece up with a B and N against opponent's N.
It didn't end as expected though. Francis managed to stifle Ian Davies' pawn on the 7th rank and then started to pick up his opponent's pawns. With just a few minutes left on his clock, Ian offered the draw which was accepted by Francis, although by that point he may have been winning but was happy with the draw thinking that board five was safe. However disaster struck with another fork on bottom board that left both sides with K, N and 2 pawns. Chris slipped up in the final stages conceding the opposition and ending up facing K and two pawns against lone king. So 2-2 and yet another draw!
Shresbury A 4 Church Stretton A 1
J Hopkins 0.5, T Brotherton 0.5
D Everington 1, S Rooney 0
F Best 1, G Link 0
P Kitchen 1, K Wakefield 0
N O'Connor 0.5, G Shepherd 0.5
Shrewsbury C 2 Church Stretton B 2
I Davies 0.5, F Rooney 0.5
M Best 0, A Thorpe 1
E Inglis 0.5, T Williamson 0.5
A Purser 1, C Pimm-Jones 0
Friday, 11 November 2011
Late win clinches B-team draw
A fine win by Adrian Thorpe on board 3 clinched a draw in yesterday's home match for the B team against Oswestry B. A knight down in the middlegame, Adrian conjured up an attack which eventually saw him get two pawns, then a bishop back with a dangerous passed pawn on the 6th rank. His opponent Alf Evans eventually faltered as his clock got down to the last few minutes and lost another piece before resigning. It's always highly pressured when you're the last match left and your team-mates are watching the excitement, but Adrian kept his cool and calmly took the point which left the final result at 2-2
Earlier Chris Pimm-Jones lost on board 3 while Francis Rooney won on board 1. Captain Tom Williamson's position looked lost for some time as he was well down on material, but his continued niggling and back-rank mate threats seemed to un-nerve his opponent for a while but eventually it came to nought, leaving Adrian to salvage the draw.
Next week there is a double-header at Shrewsbury with the A team taking on league leaders Shrewsbury A, and our B team playing their C team in division 3.
Earlier Chris Pimm-Jones lost on board 3 while Francis Rooney won on board 1. Captain Tom Williamson's position looked lost for some time as he was well down on material, but his continued niggling and back-rank mate threats seemed to un-nerve his opponent for a while but eventually it came to nought, leaving Adrian to salvage the draw.
Next week there is a double-header at Shrewsbury with the A team taking on league leaders Shrewsbury A, and our B team playing their C team in division 3.
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