Shropshire’s largest chess club – home to the reigning county league champions – has sensationally split in two.
A new Darwinian Knights Chess Club has been formed in Shrewsbury, formed almost entirely of members of the town’s previously all-conquering Telepost club. The new club, which is based at the Salop Unison Club in the shadow of Shirehall, successfully applied to join Shropshire Chess Association at the organisation’s recent AGM and is expected to field teams in Shropshire Chess League this coming season. Telepost will also continue to operate from Telepost Social Club off Abbey Foregate – but will see its numbers of over-the-board teams reduced from seven last season to just one for the coming campaign.
The split first took place earlier this year after an altercation between members of the chess club and social club at Telepost. In the wake of this, the chess club’s committee decided to relocate to Salop Unison – but this sparked an outcry from some members who wished to stay and the issue was hotly debated at an extraordinary general meeting. Telepost’s league fixtures were completed at both venues for the rest of the season before the parting of the ways was confirmed over the summer and set in stone at the league AGM.
Before the split, Telepost could boast more than 60 members and a thriving junior section and the club has been one of the strongest in the county over the past 20 years. Most of these players are now understood to be affiliated with the new Darwinian Knights club.
It also means the county town now has three clubs for the first time in living memory – and with Telepost, Darwinian Knights and Shrewsbury all vying for supremacy it should lead to some tasty derbies during the course of the league season.
Meanwhile, a motion to reduce the number of boards in league matches in divisions one and two from five to four was narrowly defeated at the county AGM. The idea was proposed by Telepost’s Nathanael Paul in a bid to help clubs field full teams without defaulting boards and to help with transport arrangements for travelling teams. But after a full and in-depth discussion, the motion was defeated and the status quo – which sees matches in divisions one and two played over five boards and division three over four – will remain.
Further changes included a new rule that players can only represent a club in Shropshire Online Chess League if they live in the British Isles and have close links with chess in Shopshire. This will have a particular impact on Oswestry, who have fielded players from America and Turkey in the online league in recent seasons but will no longer be able to do so. An initial motion calling for players to only be able to play online if they have played for their club over the board was defeated.
A further new rule also means clubs must field nominated players on board one in Shropshire Chess League matches – or if new members they must play 50 per cent of the remaining league matches. The idea was proposed by Maddocks’ Gary White to prevent very strong players turning out for clubs’ B and C teams in lower divisions.