NEW VENUE FOR CLUB!

As a result of changes at the District Club in Church Stretton we have had to find a new home and we have agreed to play our remaining home league matches at the Condover District Club which meets on alternate Tuesdays.

There is already a healthy social chess scene at Condover, something we have lacked at Church Stretton for a while, so it should be a good fit. Once we have completed the league fixtures we will make a decision on whether to stay there permanently.

Next match is Tue 12 Feb against Shrewsbury A, to be played at Condover.

Spoils shared at Priorslee

A draw against Priorslee was a fair result which keeps us poking our head above the relegation zone. We will have to pick up some points in the matches against the two teams below us though. Trevor won easily, while Steve lost easily after John had also succumbed. Graham chalked up a nice win against Andy Tunks, and Francis had the better of his encounter but agreed a draw when after a complicated middle game battle resulted in a rook ending.

Priorslee Lions A 2.5-2.5 Church Stretton
W Bates 0, T Brotherton 1
G Pugh 1, S Rooney 0
J O'Neil 1, J Whittaker 0
A Tunks 0, G Shepherd 1
J Tunks 0.5, F Rooney 0.5.

Valiant effort but no prizes

Newport A didn't have their strongest possible team but still managed to comfortably outgrade us on all boards. In the event, a 3-2 defeat wasn't a bad result with solid draws for Trevor and Graham and a win for Steve following some rather rash late play by his opponent Gavyn Cooper.

Church Stretton 2-3 Newport A
T Brotherton 0.5, N Rutter 0.5
S Rooney 1, G Cooper 0
J Whittaker 0, N Paul 1
G Shepherd 0.5, A Holdford 0.5
C Pimm-Jones 0, C Paul 1.

Steady half season

What could be described as a steady half season saw Church Stretton finish a couple of points above the relegation zone in Div 1.

Solid home win against Shifnal Telford A on 1 Nov.

Church Stretton 3.5-1.5 Shifnal Telford A
T Brotherton 0.5, D Gostelow 0.5
S Rooney 0.5, N Nazif 0.5
J Whittaker 1, R Gillespie 0
G Shepherd 0.5, W Peck 0.5
F Rooney 1, Default 0.

Followed by a predictable defeat against Telepost with our top board Trevor missing.

Church Stretton 0.4-4.5 Telepost A
S Rooney 0, N Ferrington 1
G Shepherd 0, R Bryant 1
D Hancock 0.5, P Zabrocki 0.5
F Rooney 0, K Tabner 1
C Pimm-Jones 0, J Westhead 1.


Poor result away at Shifnal Telford B

Shifnal Telford B 3.5-1.5 Church Stretton
R Thompson 0, T Brotherton 1
S Maydew 0.5, S Rooney 0.5
W Peck 1, G Shepherd 0
R Szwajkun 1, F Rooney 0
S Tennant 1, Default 0.

And a welcome whitewash against Telepost B

Church Stretton 5-0 Telepost B
T Brotherton 1, N Kiffin 0
S Rooney 1, M Clark 0
J Whittaker 1, J Westhead 0
G Shepherd 1, C Micallef 0
F Rooney 1, J Casewell 0.

Top Shrews

Shrewsbury pulled out all the stops to get their top team out, including David Everington on board five! Both Rooneys had winning chances but it was the match that got away.

Shrewsbury  A 4-1 Church Stretton

P Makepeace 0.5, T Brotherton 0.5 

J Hopkins 0.5, S Rooney 0.5

F Best 1, G Shepherd 0

P Kitchen 1, F Rooney 0

D Everington 1, J Carless 0.

Season gets going

The season is now underway for the A team which faced a tough opening match against Newport, losing 3.5-1.5, but managed to hold Priorslee Lions to a 2.5-2.5 draw in the following game.

Graham Shepherd was the only winner in the Newport match with John Whittaker getting a draw.

The first home match was a little unconventional as we shared the room with a pool match. It did get a little noisy at times but hopefully it wasn't too distracting for the players. We did have a welcome visitor, Ian Judd from Chichester chess club, who was staying in Stretton for a week's holiday. Always handy when a 158-grade turns up looking for a game!

At one stage it looked like we would take the full match points. Trevor beat off Bill Bates agressive opening to emerge two clear pawns up and with Bill's king looking distinctly vulnerable in the middle of the board. You don't expect Trevor to cede an advantage like this, and he didn't, clinching the first game point. Gerald was a piece up in his game but got tangled up and then mated by Gary White, always a wily opponent. This was followed by another win for the visitors as Steve Tarr won a king and pawn ending against our guest board three Ian. The final two games finished with John Whittaker getting a draw against Andy Tunks, and Steve Rooney getting the full point against Glyn Pugh after the latter dropped a rook in the final stages.

Next match is away to Shrewsbury A.

*Unfortunately we have had to withdraw the B team this season as we don't quite have enough players for both teams. However everyone is welcome to come along to the club for casual games on Thursdays, but probably best to let Steve or Graham know if you're coming to make sure someone is there.

Newport A 3.5-1.5 Church Stretton
N Rutter 1, T Brotherton 0
T Pym 1, S Rooney 0
N Paul 0.5, J Whittaker 0.5
C Lewis 1, G Link 0
S Ross 0, G Shepherd 1.

Church Stretton 2.5-2.5 Priorslee Lions A
Brotherton 1, W Bates 0
S Rooney 1, G Pugh 0
I Judd 0, S Tarr 1
J Whittaker 0.5, A Tunks 0.5
G Link 0, G White 1.

New grades July 2012

The new grades have now been published by the ECF. Full details of the games included can now be found on the much enhanced ECF grading site - www.ecfgrading.org.uk

Trevor Brotherton 185 
Tiago Faustino 176 
Steve Rooney 162
Karl Wakefield 153
Gerald Link 145
Graham Shepherd 137
Eric Elwell 127
Francis Rooney 114
Tom Williamson 106
Chris Pimm-Jones 93