A team drop to foot of table

The A team ended the first half of the season at the bottom of division one following a defeat to Telepost B who started the match on the same points as Church Stretton A.

Gerald Link turned down an early draw in his match agains Peter Crean but lost out in a king and pawn ending. Karl Wakefield then fell to a tactical trap by his opponent Bob Simpson having started out with a promising position from a familiar opening. Tom Williamson's game against Steve Kempsell ended in a draw in a position that appeared to offer chances to both sides.

On board four David Williams launched a ferocious attack against John Westhead's exposed king but in the process sacrificed two pieces. Unable to find the killer punch David eventually succumbed. This left Steve Rooney to try and salvage something despite the match being lost. He won an important pawn against John Bashall but this is often not enough in what developed into an opposite bishop's ending. However John's position became very passive and eventually Steve's king invaded the enemy territory and forced the win of another pawn resulting in his opponent's resignation.

Church Stretton 1.5-3.5 Telepost B
S Rooney 1-0 J Bashall
K Wakefield 0-1 R Simpson
G Link 0-1 P Crean
D Williams 0-1 J Westhead
T Williamson 0.5-0.5 S Kempsell

B team lose out at Shrewsbury

The B team lost their derby match with Shrewsbury B despite a good win for on-form David Williams on board one and a good draw for Tom Williamson on board 3.

Shrewsbury B 3.5-1.5 Church Stretton B
D Lockett 0-1 D Williams
M Smith 1-0 A Thorpe 0
N O'Connor 0.5-0.5 T Williamson
A Lewis 1-0 Default
I Salter 1-0 C Pimm-Jones 0.

A team crash at Oswestry

Oswestry A's renewed strength this season proved too much for visitors Church Stretton A last night. The match ended 4-1 to Oswestry although the games were a bit closer than the scoreline indicated.

16-year old Ieuan Fenton kept up his good form with a win over Graham Shepherd on board three after losing an exchange in what turned out to be a very good sacrifice giving him a strong attack on the king's side. John Whittaker on board four resigned his game thinking he was going to lose a rook, although afterwards he realised that the position was about even. It is ironic that this was almost a carbon copy of an game earlier this season when Graham Shepherd resigned in similar cirumstances when John Whittaker was on the fortunate receiving end playing in the Church Stretton-Ludlow match in division two.

Oswestry went further ahead when Gerald Link finally succumbed to Simon Hughes' queen side pressure which resulted from a Benko Gambit. And Tom Williamson lost on time in a position that was roughly even. Church Stretton's only point came from the final game when Steve Rooney converted an extra passed pawn into a win against Richard Evans.

Oswestry A 4-1 Church Stretton A
S Hughes 1-0 Gerald Link
R Evans 0-1 S Rooney
I Fenton 1-0 G Shepherd
A Peile 1-0 J Whittaker
G Hampson 1-0 T Williamson

B team defeat table-topping Wellington

Despite a last minute switch round of the team because of two missing players, Church Stretton B managed to beat Wellington A who are currently top of division two and had won all four of their previous matches.

Captain Tom Williamson was originally going to sit out the home match but had to step in on board three when two of his team didn't manage to get to the club. Wellington had already come a player short and the late switch of Stretton players meant that it ended up as a four board match. Eric Elwell was first to finish with a draw on board two, a pawn up but not enough to force the full point. Tom Wiliamson lost his game after his opponent broke through in the centre, but then Francis Rooney who was ahead on material from an early stage calmly finished off his opponent to win on board four levelling the match. This left David Williams on board one trying to hold out against Wellington captain Toby Neal's ferocious sacrificial attack. In the end Toby ended up too short of both time and material and David held his nerve to win the game, securing a win for the home club.

Church Stretton B 2.5-1.5 Wellington A
David Williams 1-0 Toby Neal
Eric Elwell 0.5-0.5 Neil Sampson
Tom Williamson 0-1 John Lenton
Francis Rooney 1-0 B Ives

A team lose out against Newport

Church Stretton A lost another close match last week. Visitors Newport A have lost several players to university in recent seasons and were yet to get any points in division 1 before the game. Top county player Nick Rutter on board one overcame Church Stretton's Karl Wakefield to put Newport in the lead. This was followed by a win for Church Stretton's Eric Elwell on board five against Sellick Davies and then Graham Shepherd lost to Alex Taylor on board 3. This left Newport 2-1 ahead and the final two boards were drawn with neither Steve Rooney on board two or John Whittaker on board three able to conjure up a win.

Church Stretton A 2-3 Newport A
K Wakefield 0, N Rutter 1;
S Rooney 0.5, A Holdford 0.5;
G Shepherd 0, A Taylor 1;
J Whittaker 0.5, D Griffiths 0.5;
E Elwell 1, S Davies 0.

Draw for B team at Shifnal & Telford B

The B team got a second successive draw at Shifnal & Telford, this time against the B team.

Shifnal & Telford B 2.5-2.5 Church Stretton B
W. Peck 0, G. Shepherd 1;
G. Lee 1, D. Williams 0;
S. Tennant 1, A. Thorpe 0;
J. Kenderdine 0.5, T. Williamson 0.5;
N. Donaldson 0, C. Pimms-Jones 1.

A team lose out to Shrewsbury

Following a default in the last match when it was not possible to field a full side, the A team lost a tough battle against Shrewsbury in a match. The result didn't reflect the tightness of the match. The home team points came from Karl Wakefield who got a well deserved draw against Shrewsbury top board Philip Makepeace and Steve Rooney won a sharp encounter with Francis Best.

Church Stretton A 1.5-3.5 Shrewsbury A
K Wakefield 0.5, P Makepeace 0.5;
G Link 0, D Everington 1;
S Rooney 1, F Best 0;
J Whittaker 0, Kitchen 1;
D Williams 0, R Cox 1.

B team draw away to Shifnal & Telford C

The B team were held to a draw away to Shifnal & Telford B.


Shifnal and Telford C v Church Stretton B 2.5 - 2.5
G Lee 1, G Shepherd 0;
R Brown 1, D Williams 0;
R Gillespie 0.5, A Thorpe 0.5;
P Broderick 0, T Williamson 1;
J Beddoes 0, C Pimm-Jones 1.

B team's first victory

In a battle between two teams looking for their first league points of the season, Church Stretton B beat Shrewsbury C in a division two match last night. The two teams know each other well with Steve Rooney having moved to Church Stretton from Shrewsbury this season and Francis Rooney combining his role for Church Stretton B with Shrewsbury's junior team who compete in the third division.

The home team got off to a good start with an early win for Graham Shepherd against Eric Inglis on board two when the latter missed a skewer on his queen. This was followed by solid draws for Church Stretton's Chris Pimm-Jones and Francis Rooney, despite being outgraded by their opponents, and a draw for David Williams, leaving Steve Rooney to win in a tactical battle on board one against Ian Davies to wrap up a 3.5-1.5 victory.

Full result:
Church Stretton B 3.5-1.5 Shrewsbury C
Steve Rooney 1-0 Ian Davies
Graham Shepherd 1-0 Eric Inglis
David Williams 0.5-0.5 Tommy Cheng
Chirs Pimm-Jones 0.5-0.5 Fred Harris
Francis Rooney 0.5-0.5 Alan Bliss

Church Stretton B v Newport B

The B team has yet to gets its settled line-up with a number of players away. The trip to Newport ended in a 3-2 defeat despite good wins for Graham Shepherd and Adrian Thorpe.

Full result:
Newport B 3 Church Stretton B 2
A Taylor 1-0 Steve Rooney
S Davies 0-1 Graham Shepherd
A Mehmood 0-1 A Thorpe
S Cooper 1-0 C Pimm-Jones
D Lovegrove 1-0 F Rooney

A team win against Coddon

Church Stretton A won their league match last Thursday against Coddon A. Wins for Graham Shepherd, John Whittaker and Steve Rooney plus a draw for Eric Elwell sealed the victory whilst Gerald Link on board one lost a tight ending against Glyn Pugh. Roll on Telepost A on 12 Oct!

Full result:
Church Stretton A 3.5-1.5 Coddon A
Gerald Link 0-1 Glyn Pugh
Steve Rooney 1-0 G White
G Shepherd 1-0 J Tunks
J Whittaker 1-0 N Paul
E Elwell 0-5.0.5 C Paul

B team start division 2 campaign

Church Stretton B lost their opening match against Ludlow dspite an early win for Eric Elwell on board 2 and promising positions in the other games. the final result 3.5-1.5 to Ludlow was sealed when Graham Shepherd resigned against John Whittaker, only to realise straight afterwards that he could have taken a rook and ended up a piece up. Another game lost ton the dreaded blitz finish!

25/9/08
Church Stretton B 1.5 v Ludlow 3.5
1. Graham Shepherd 0-1 John Whittaker
2. Eric Elwell 1-0 R Woodley
3. Adrian Thorpe 0-1 J Preece
4. T Williamson 0-1 P Munday
5. Chris Pimm-Jones 0.5-0.5 K Thompson

A team come close in first outing

Church Stretton A team gave Shifnal & Telford a bit of a shock in the opening league game of the season. With Shifnal & Telford fielding their strongest team they thought they were in a comfortable night, especially when we were forced to default the bottom board. But early wins for Gerald Link against John Footner and Steve Rooney against Dave Gostelow put Church Stretton 2-1 ahead before John Whittaker and Karl Wakefield finallly succumbed to stronger opponents and the match ended 3-2 to Shifnal & Telford. Let's hope for better luck against Coddon on 2 Oct!

17/9/08
Shifnal & Telford A 3 Church Stretton A 2
1. Trevor Brotherton 1-0 Karl Wakefield
2. John Footner 0-1 Gerald Link
3. Dave Gostelow 0-1 Steve Rooney
4. Colin Roberts 1-0 John Whittaker
5. Iain Wilson 1-0 default

Welcome

Welcome to the Church Stretton Chess Club blog. Here you will find news and information about chess in one of Shropshire's most beautiful towns. If you want to get involved, the club meets every Thursday at the Church Stretton District club, Essex Road, Church Stretton. Players of all abilities welcome!