What The Papers Say

Rows over the board and walkouts before matches – those are possibilities raised at a Zoom meeting of Shropshire Chess Association called to discuss coronavirus protocols as face to face chess resumes. With some players not wanting to wear face masks, and some not wanting to play in matches unless their opponents are wearing face

Report by Charles Higgie Shropshire are fielding no less than 7 teams in the 4NCL Online Chess League. Last season Shropshire fielded 5 sides, but they have merged with most of the Malpas & Oswestry & Friends squad to form “Shropshire & Friends” with Matthew Clark from Shrewsbury and Charles Higgie from Malpas running the

Shropshire chess legend David Everington is being honoured with the Division One trophy in the county league being named after him. The suggestion of naming a major trophy after Everington, who was the heart and soul of Shropshire chess over six decades, was discussed at the annual meeting of Shropshire Chess Association. A number of

The pitfalls of internet chess were starkly demonstrated when a server crashed during crunch games played in Shropshire’s Cox Trophy and Minor knockout competitions. The server went down at about 8.33pm, which would have been just over an hour into the action. With the outage being for nine minutes, most players simply assumed their opponents

Simon Maydew is Shropshire’s new king of chess after a giantkilling performance in the county’s individual championship. Maydew won five games in the seven-round tournament and drew the other two to finish on six points, making him outright winner, half a point clear of the rest of the field. He receives a £45 first prize.

By guest columnist Peter Kitchen It has taken a move from social clubs and pubs to the online pathways of cyberspace – but the Shrewsbury-based Telepost club has finally ended Newport’s five-year dominance of the Shropshire Chess League. The Abbey Foregate-based club’s A team has completed a main league and rapidplay league double – both

Telepost A are within touching distance of winning their first Shropshire Chess League title since 2014 and ending Newport’s long reign after a decisive 3-1 win in the rivals’ crucial encounter. Newport A have won the championship for the last five seasons but with only one match left in their campaign are a point behind

Telepost Dark Knights enjoyed another bright night in the latest Shropshire rapidplay chess league team battle, topping the table with 107 points after an evening of frenetic action. However Mad Wolves – a combined team from Wolverhampton and the Oakengates-based Maddocks club – ran them close, ending on 98 points. Unsurprisingly, the top individual performances

Grandmaster chess player Keith Arkell did not have things all go his way as he took on 19 challengers simultaneously from the Shropshire chess scene in an online event. Two players beat him – the county’s top woman player, Kate Walker, from the Telepost club, and Newport’s young star Daniel Hilditch-Love. A further four achieved