With the new Shropshire Chess Association league season due to kick off at the end of this month, Telepost have entered a record seven teams across all three divisions, reflecting the unprecedented recent growth of the club. The new season sees the welcome return of Division Three, which was held over last season as there were fewer OTB teams across the county as a legacy of covid. Within the reinstated division there will be three Junior teams – Telepost, Newport and Telford – and the return of Church Stretton to the league. With the new dual club nights at Telepost, Mondays will soon see regular competitive play, both league and individual, as the popular Wednesday social chess nights continue. Details so far of the new league fixtures and our teams can be found here. The nominated players and confirmation of D team/E team placings will be added soon. Congratulations to Telepost’s Dan Hilditch-Love, recently appointed as Shropshire League Controller, who has been remarkably efficient in completing the complex task of programming the fixtures so swiftly.
11 members attended the recent Telepost Chess Club AGM, which reflected on the past year’s remarkable influx of new members and range of activities, especially the thriving Juniors section and the real promise being shown by our youngest members. Items discussed included a possible increase in club fees, but it was decided to retain the existing fees and invite additional voluntary contributions – payment is now due and can be made direct to the club account or by cash to Dennis Bonner or club treasurer John Westhead. Minutes of the AGM are available here. At the end of the meeting, Telepost C captain Dennis Bonner presented his team members with trophies in recognition of their promotion to Division One:
Dennis, aka Wheathill, had further reason to celebrate as he was announced as the winner of the ECF Chess.com Team England Championship for 1601-1700 rated players. The marathon contest began in October 2021 and ended in August and consisted of a relentless programme of three-day correspondence games. Congratulations to Dennis on lasting the pace and outdoing many higher-rated contestants!
