Catching up!

Apologies about lack of reports here in recent weeks - pressure of work I'm afraid.

Anyway, the league season continues to go well. The league tables are suffering from quite a few postponements which means that teams have not played the same number of matches, but our B team is top of division three and the A team second in Division two with a 100 per cent record so far.

The B team has won five of its six matches, only conceding a draw to second-placed Newport B. Its latest victory was a 3-1 win against Newport Juniors

Meanwhile the A team is enjoying a 100 per cent record from its three games but has had two matches postponed so will have a lop-sided season with eight games now scheduled after Christmas, compared to four in the first half. The next A team fixture is against Telford B who are currently top and one of the sides to watch in Div 2.

In the Rapidplay competition, Church Stretton had a good first match night hosted at our club, but a less successful affair away at Priorslee when we were without Trevor. Next Rapidplay fixture is on 12 December at Shrewsbury.

Profitable trip to Telford

The A team chalked up its second win with a 5-0 victory over Telford C. To be fair, we did outgrade our opponents on all the boards but it was satisfying to get a clean sweep and you never know if it might come in handy for points' difference at the end of the season.

Trevor started the ball rolling with a comfortable win and was followed by Eric who had won a piece early on. David had what looked like an overwhelming attack on a strangled king position and finished it off neatly. This left just Karl and Steve who managed to grind their opponents down in the end.

A good start, but no time for complacency as there are some tough matches to come with several teams that will provide strong opposition.

Telford C 0 Church Stretton A 5
R Szwajkun 0, T Brotherton 1
T Skidmore 0, S Rooney 1
A Jones 0, K Wakefield 1
R Roberts 0, D Hodge 1
B Malone 0, E Elwell 1

B team start with a win

The B team started its Division three campaign with a good win away at Oswestry. David Graham and Tom all won and John Westhead drew for a 3.5-0.5 result which puts them at the top of the table.

Oswestry B 0.5 Church Stretton B 3.5
A Peile 0, D Hodge 1

R Thomson 0, G Shepherd 1

J Smith 0.5, J Westhead 0.5

A Evans 0, T Williamson 1

Karl's giant chess set unleashed!

A fun evening at the club this week when Karl brought along his giant chess set for us all to see. And when he said it was a big set, he meant it! The kings are about 12in high and the giant board has six-inch squares on a bespoke table made by a local cabinet maker.

It's a beautifully-made exhibition set and would be ideal for use at a special event. (Might try to persuade him to bring it the the Shropshire congress in January.)

Here are some photos of the set in action. (The white king in the middle photo is from a standard-height chess set to show you the scale.)

Starting with a win

Our first match in Division two saw a 3.5-1.5 victory for the A team away at Telepost B.

Firstly we should wish a warm welcome to David Hodge who played his first game for us, and his first competitive match for a number of years. He started off with a fine win having emerged a piece up early on and calmly converting the point. Karl drew with John Westhead after what looked like a slight advantage disappeared in the rook and pawn ending, and Francis saw an opportunity to swap in to a won ending a pawn up with his knight being far better than the opposing bishop. Francis' win took us to 2.5 points.

Steve eventually lost after battling for half the game having mis-read some tactics and being basically outplayed. Trevor was last to finish in another ending with knight v bishop where the knight was better. Keith was probably dazzled by the knight hopping all over the board in the emerging time scramble and slipped up to let Trevor's king in behind the pawns and it was all over. A decent result, particularly given the fact that half way through there was little advantage showing for our players.

Telepost B 1.5 Church Stretton A 3.5
K Tabner 0, T Brotherton 1
A Benjamin 1, S Rooney 0
J Westhead 0.5, K Wakefield 0.5
K Walker 0, D Hodge 1
V Crean 0, F Rooney1

Trevor takes us on

Church Stretton's top board, Trevor Brotherton, is taking on allcomers at the Church Stretton club this Thursday 11 September. He will play simultaneously against club members. Starts at around 7.30pm.

See you there!

... And he won all six boards, well done Trevor!

Returning to Stretton

After a season playing at the Condover venue, the club is returning to the Church Stretton & District Club in Essex Road for the start of the 2014-15 season.

We are delighted to be back at our old venue, but also very grateful to John Casewell and the Condover club for accommodating us last year. After captaining the B team and only just being squeezed out of promotion last season, John will remain a member of the B team for the coming season with Tom Williamson taking over as captain. Steve Rooney will captain the A team.

For 2014-15 we will once again field two teams in the league. The A team is now in Div 2 but determined to get back to the top division very soon. We will also be running a team in the Rapidplay league.

An internal club competition will also be launched this year with the agreed format being an all-play-all at Rapidplay times (20min  or 10min + 2 sec per person following the Rapidplay league times).

The league fixtures have just been published - see column on right.

The club meets on Thursday evenings from 7.30pm. Regular members will need to join the District club at its modest rates, although guest members are very welcome so if you fancy trying chess or are a returning player, you will be very welcome.

The club starts from this Thursday 4 September.

See you there.