Newport retain quickplay trophy
Newport A proved to be the class act as they cruised to victory in the Shropshire chess team quickplay tournament.
They retained their trophy after beating a very strong Telepost A outfit in the final.
The showdown proved to be a one-sided affair, with Newport quickly surging into an unassailable 3-0 lead in the running score over the five boards. The final result was Newport A 4 Telepost A 1.
Newport’s cause was aided by the recruitment of a guest player on top board, Nick Arkell, of Stourbridge, but even so they were outgraded overall against their Shrewsbury-based opponents, who had a strong guest themselves in the shape of Richard Bryant.
Detailed result was: Nick Arkell 1, Trevor Brotherton 0; Nat Paul 0.5, Nigel Ferrington 0.5; Ian Jamieson 1, Richard Bryant 0; Athar Ansari 1, Phil Zabrocki 0; Chris Lewis 0.5, John Bashall 0.5.
Shrewsbury beat Wellington 4.5-0.5 to take third place.
Six teams took part in the event at the Wrekin Housing Trust in Telford.
There was a poignant backdrop to Newport’s triumph, as it came shortly after the death of one of their players, Warren Lewis, and a minute’s silence was held for him before the start of play.
Lewis had returned to play for Newport last season after being away for over 40 years and played several games for both the club’s A and B teams before his illness. He died in hospital on June 2.
