Tough start for A team

Condover & Church Stretton A team are pitted against three of the leading sides in Division 1 in the first matches of the season. The opening encounter against Shrewsbury ended in a 4-1 defeat, although during the evening, it didn't look as if it would end up that one-sided.

The first match to finish was the (very) brief draw between Trevor Brotherton and Jamie Hopkins on board one, followed quite a while later by a draw on board two between Steve Rooney and Francis Best.

Michael's Bukojemski's position on board three looked pretty dangerous from early on with a brutal kingside attack from Ed Goodwin. Michael always seemed to be one move away from being able to launch a counter offensive on the queen's side and eventually he simply lost too much material to continue. Meanwhile Graham Shepherd had put up stiff resistance against David Everington and with rook and three pawns against rook and two, it looked difficult to see a win. But a slip-up in the latter stages saw another pawn disappear and David moved in steadily for the kill.

The final game to finish was Eric Elwell against Peter Kitchen on board five. Peter was a piece up, but to be honest it was a pretty useless piece, marooned behind a phalanx of pawns. He took it to the wire on the new digital clocks and very nearly let Eric swindle something but eventually it was Eric's time which ran out. (I suppose we can't talk about flags falling ith digital clocks?)

Next match is Telepost A on 23 September.

Condover & Church Stretton A 1-4 Shrewsbury 
1. Trevor Brotherton 0.5-0.5 Jamie Hopkins
2. Steve Rooney 0.5-0.5 Francis Best
3. Michael Bukojemski 0-1 Ed Goodwin
4. Graham Shepherd 0-1 David Everington
5. Eric Elwell 0-1 Peter Kitchen

Welcome to Condover

As the founder of Condover Chess Club for social chess about three years ago I would like to welcome Church Stretton players and hope you all enjoy the chess in your new surroundings.

John Casewell

9 September 2013 

Simul kicks off season

Many thanks to Telepost's Nigel Ferrington who did a simul display at Condover & Church Stretton this week. He faced eight opponents and won all but one game.

Congratulations to Kate Walker for holding Nigel to a draw, and thanks to John and Dean for putting the event together.

Ready for the off!

The newly-merged Condover & Church Stretton chess club is about to kick off its season with a special simultaneous display by leading county player Nigel Ferrington on Tue 3 September.

The club is running two teams in the Shropshire league with Steve Rooney captain of the A team in Div 1, and John Casewell captain of the B team in Div 3.

New players are very welcome - just turn up on at Condover Social Club on Tuesdays from 7.30pm. We promise a warm welcome and a great atmosphere for social chess, as well as some good competitive games for those who want to play league chess.

The club is also going digital this year with a new set of high-spec digital clocks, thanks to the kind generosity of club member Graham Shepherd.

The first league fixtures are on Tue 10 September with both teams in action. See the fixture list on the right for all the dates, but remember that social chess will take place every Tuesday. In the meantime, if you want any more information, contact Steve Rooney on 01694 723724.

Summer blitz events at Newport

Newport chess club is hosting a series of blitz events. The club has now changed its night to Tuesdays and the blitz takes place on:

28 May
25 June
30 July
27 August

More info here

The good news is that none of them clash with our social chess nights at Condover! Grreat turn-out this week at Condover with welcome new guests and some real quality chess - look forward to seeing lots of you there each fortnight - next on is 23 April.

More dates for social chess at Condover

Further dates have been agreed for chess at the Condover Social Club, which has been our new venue for Church Stretton since having to leave the club in the town.

Tuesdays on the following dates at 8.00pm

9 April

23 April 

7 May

21 May

4 June

18 June

2 July

16 July

Safe in division one!

Having stayed well out of the relegation zone all season, we are now safe in division one for next season, with a clear victory 4.5-0.5 over Shifnal Telford A helping us stay in the top flight.

Two tough matches followed but we managed to hold Shrewsbury A to a fine draw, and had some chances to win the match. Telepost A didn't go quite so well and we struggled without Trevor on top board.

Our final two matches are against the two relegated teams. Then we have the small matter of defending the Cox trophy which we won last summer.

Next match is Tue 26, home at Condover. We are aiming to continue the social chess at Condover after Easter and will publish the dates shortly.