A first-half header from Chester skipper Paul Linwood was cancelled out by Jamie Ward, but the supporters still chanted for Richardson to go.
It might have been different if Ward had scored in the fourth minute when he turned inside Shaun Kelly and struck the crossbar, but the early promise quickly faded as Chester became the latest team to benefit from Chesterfield's weakness at free-kicks.
They have been caught out at set-pieces numerous times this season and it was a case of the same old story once again in the 17th minute, when Ryan Lowe swung the ball in from the right and Linwood rose unchallenged to head into the top corner.
It was a poor goal for Chesterfield to concede and it took them until early in the second half to regain that early momentum.
A double substitution by Richardson in the 54th minute had the desired effect and it was no surprise when Ward put his side level with his fifth goal of the season.
Jamie Lowry exchanged passes with Darren Currie on the right and when he crossed, Ward again escaped the attentions of Kelly and this time his low right-foot shot was too good for John Danby.
That appeared to be the signal for Chesterfield to go on and take the game, but Chester defended strongly with Linwood outstanding in the middle of the back four.
Despite long periods of pressure from the home side, they were unable to create many clear cut openings although Jack Lester almost got through in the final minutes.
The striker was waiting to pounce when a shot deflected towards him at the back post but Danby, whose handling had been excellent throughout, reacted sharply to drop onto the ball.
Chester had their moments on the break and Mark Hughes almost won it for the visitors late on, but his shot was deflected over the bar by Lowry and when Ward fired a free-kick high into the crowd, Chesterfield knew that elusive victory had again escaped them.