Shocks keep on coming as top seed Ferrington taken down

There has been a second upset in as many rounds of Shrewsbury Town Championship after top seed Nigel Ferrington was beaten by his club captain Matthew Clark. Clark’s victory with the white pieces has catapulted him to the top of the tournament table with two wins from two matches. It also means both of the competition’s highest rated players – both rated considerably higher than the rest of the field – have suffered surprise defeats. Shrewsbury’s Nathanael Paul lost to James Holyhead in round one and has since sadly withdrawn from the competition.

Meanwhile, players have little more than a week to enter eye-catching games for consideration for this year’s Colin Roberts Memorial Trophy. The trophy, named after the former Telford and Wellington player who was a popular figure on the local chess scene before his death a few years ago, is awarded to what is judged to be the best game by a Shropshire player during the season.

Both over-the-board and online games will be considered for the award, and competitive games in any competition are valid to be entered so long as they involve a Shropshire-based player. People are encouraged to send their scoresheets and any annotations they wish to add to Toby Neal by emailing langrishcaiger@aol.com before the deadline of June 30.

Elsewhere, the over-the-board Shropshire Chess League season has been officially wrapped up. Telford A finished their division two campaign in style with a resounding 5-0 win over Telepost D, who also turned up a player short. Telford finished third in the table, while Telepost’s fourth string finished bottom.

The final fixture in division three between champions Telford B and Newport C was declared a double default, with both sides awarded a point from a 0-0 draw. The result will have been some relief to Maddocks C, who held on to second spot ahead of Newport C by just one point.

Finally, the Shropshire Megafinal of the UK Chess Challenge will be held at Charlton School in Wellington on Saturday (June 25). Six rounds will be played over the course of the day for players in categories from under eights up to under 18s, with competitors competing for a chance to appear at a regional gigafinal. Entries are open up until Friday and cost £25 per player. For more details email Christopher.d.lewis44@gmail.com or visit www.shropshirechess.org/junior-chess