Tournament all set to return as Shropshire juniors thrive

Shropshire Junior Chess Congress will be the latest chance for aspiring young players to show off their talent and gain valuable experience and is another short in the arm of the thriving junior scene in the county, writes Peter Kitchen.

It comes after Rudi Bedford of St George’s School in Copthorne, Shrewsbury, won the under-nines section in Nottinghamshire Primary Schools Chess Association Championships – the first junior tournament win by a young player from Shropshire in many years.

Meanwhile, a new junior chess club in Ludlow has been established in recent months and has now been donated equipment by Shropshire Chess Association to help its work.

The junior chess congress is believed to have last been held in 2014 and its return comes after the county hosted its first UK Chess Challenge Megafinal last year.

It will be held at Charlton School in Wellington on March 18, with 17 entries already received from players ranging from under eights to under 14s, while there is also a section for under 18s.

There will be six rounds played with a time control of 15 minutes for all moves with 10 seconds increment er move.

Organiser Chris Lewis said it was hoped the junior congress would become an annual event that would run alongside the UKCC Megafinal.

At the Nottinghamshire championships, Rudi Bedford recovered from an opening round loss to Lee Enzo in the opening round to win his remaining five games – including defeating Joshua Phuah of Fernwood, who would ultimately finish level on points with him.

Merry Curtis of Highley Primary School and Rudi’s older brother Henry both performed competitively in the under-11s section, scoring 3/6 and 2/6 respectively. This earned Merry a share of 10th place out of 21 players, while Henry finished 17th.

The junior club in Ludlow has received three digital clocks, a pairing board to use for ladder tournaments and a demonstration board as club organisers look to grow interest in the game in the south of the county.

Elsewhere, a delegation of players from Shropshire competed in Blackpool Chess Conference.

In the open category, Shrewsbury’s Nathanael Paul – seeded 12th – shared 18th place out of 44 with 2.5/5.

Newport’s Chris Lewis shared 23rd place in the major section, Telepost’s Kate Walker and Maddocks’ Gary White shared 12th place in the intermediate category, with Munroe Morrison of Maddocks coming joint 41st.

Back on the local scene, Maddocks A have returned to the top of division one of Shropshire Chess League thanks to victories over Telepost A and Maddocks B. County town rivals Telepost A and Shrewsbury A are locked in a battle for third place, and both won against relegation-threatened sides in the form of Telepost B and Maddocks B respectively.

In division two, Telford A have opened up daylight at the top of division after closest challengers Telepost C lost at home to Newport C. Telford are now four points clear having won all eight league fixtures so far.

In division one of the online league, there was an upset as Shrewsbury A defeated defending champions Oswestry A in a match that saw both sides missing key players. The match was notable for seeing Shrewsbury line up with father and son Francis and Matt Best on the top two boards, which is believed to be the first time that has happened in the club’s long history.

After all four boards between Oswestry B and Oswestry A ended as draws, the top three teams – Oswestry A, Oswestry B and Shrewsbury A – are now separated by a single point. Telepost A and Shrewsbury B both have two points and are fighting to avoid the division’s wooden spoon.

Latest results:

Shropshire League division one: Maddocks A 3.5-1.5 Telepost A (N Walker 0-1 N Ferrington, A Grillage 1-0 M Clark, P Bull 1-0 D Hilditch-Love, G Pugh 0.5-0.5 J Bashall, T Preece 1-0 J Westhead); Shrewsbury A 3-2 Maddocks B (N Paul 1-0 S Tarr, F Best 1-0 G White, M Smith 0-1 S Maydew, D Lockett 0.5-0.5 M Morrison, W Apted 0.5-0.5 M Billington); Telepost B 0.5-4.5 Telepost A (D Hilditch-Love 0.5-0.5 N Ferrington, S Kempsell 0-1 P Zabrocki, J Westhead 0-1 M Clark, S Hollands 0-1 F Bench, S Wilson 0-1 P Crean); Maddocks B 1.5-3.5 Maddocks A (S Tarr 0.5-0.5 N Walker, G White 0-1 A Grillage, S Maydew 0.5-0.5 P Bull, M Morrison 0.5-0.5 G Pugh, G Viszokai 0-1 T Preece).

Shropshire League division two: Telepost C 1.5-3.5 Newport B (K Walker 1-0 J Greenwood, J Holyhead 0-1 D Griffiths, V Crean 0-1 P Love, N Holmes 0-1 A Jones, D Bonner 0.5-0.5 D Lovegrove); Telford B 4.5-0.5 Telepost D (J Footner 0.5-0.5 G Shepherd, D Hollands 1-0 J Gough, S Tennant 1-0 A Brims, R Thompson 1-0 J Casewell, R Barton 1-0 M Ayres); Maddocks C 0.5-4.5 Telford A (M Billington 0.5-0.5 M Keady, G Viszokai 0-1 R Parry, I Jamieson 0-1 T Neal, K Verma 0-1 R Szwajkun, J Hill 0-1 R Brown).

Online league division one: Shrewsbury B 1-3 Oswestry A (M Smith 0.5-0.5 C Lowick Higgie, S Priestley 0.5-0.5 M Altinsoy, I Salter 0-1 B Whyte, R Vernon 0-1 A Bailey); Shrewsbury A 2.5-1.5 Oswestry A (F Best 0.5-0.5 M Altinsoy, M Best 1-def B Whyte, S Priestley 1-0 A Grocott-James, D Lockett 0-1 G Slegg); Oswestry B 2-2 Oswestry A (P Beckett 0.5-0.5 C Lowick Higgie, R van Kemenade 0.5-0.5 B Whyte, P Lovatt 0.5-0.5 A Bailey, P Fisher 0.5-0.5 G Slegg).