Richard sat out this round too, and Charlie was not available, so the team was a little weaker but still outrated the opponents slightly. As tie-break was on sum of opponents score we did not know exactly how many points we needed, but the consensus was that a draw would be sufficient. This made it a rather nervy match, and Chris and Nigel took early draws once it seemed that Rob and Dave were winning. In the end this proved exactly on the mark: Rob brought in the goods with a win against the Dutch, and Dave played accurately once again to beat his 200 graded opponent. With two losses (Mike and Jerry) we achieved the draw again, leaving us waiting for the final results of the numerous rivals, which in the end left us in clear third place.

So Division Two beckons for next year and with it the huge advantage of playing in Birmingham rather than Telford. The team average is around 2100, with a range from 2000 to 2200, which means the top teams are stronger than this year's opposition while some at the bottom will be rather weaker. Overall we should be around the borderline between the promotion and relegation pools and have good prospects for doing well next season.

Player Performances

| | Grade | Score | Av Opp | Perf | | David Buckley | 205 | 5.5/9 | 199.0 | 210 | | Chris Russell | 198 | 5.5/9 | 190.8 | 202 | | Charlie Fry | 192 | 1.5/2 | 188.0 | 213 | | Richard Savory | 179 | 5.5/9 | 184.6 | 196 | | Nigel Hosken | 179 | 2/4 | 187.8 | 188 | | Mike Meadows | 179 | 7.5/11 | 176.1 | 194 | | Rob Thompson | 177 | 3.5/9 | 182.0 | 171 | | Martin White | 168 | 2.5/4 | 158.3 | 171 | | Jerry Humphreys | 165 | 3.5/6 | 173.2 | 182 | | Daniel Young | 164 | 1/1 | 152.0 | 202 |

League Table after Final Round

| Team | P | W | D | L | S | Pt | | North East England 1 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 138 | 20 | | Celtic Tigers 1 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 158 | 18 | | Downend & Fishponds | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 149 | 16 | | e2e4.org.uk 2 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 153 | 15 | | Cheddleton 2 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 144 | 15 | | Surbiton 1 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 127 | 15 | | Midland Monarchs 1 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 99 | 15 | | Fermented Sharks | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 151 | 14 | | Broadland Bitterns [1] | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 140 | 14 | | Anglian Avengers 2 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 133 | 14 | | Leeds University Old Boys | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 130 | 14 | | Poisoned Pawns | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 129 | 14 | | Ashfield-Breadsall | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 121 | 14 | | Shropshire | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 135 | 13 | | Warwickshire Select 2 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 129 | 13 | | Manchester Manticores 2 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 123 | 13 | | BCM Rhinos [2] | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 117 | 13 | | Guildford 4 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 142 | 12 | | The Rookies | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 135 | 12 | | e2e4.org.uk 3 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 133 | 12 | | West is Best 1 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 129 | 12 | | Oxford 2 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 127 | 12 | | Spirit of Atticus B | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 112 | 12 | | MK Phoenix 2 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 100 | 12 | | e2e4.org.uk 4 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 91 | 12 | | Rhyfelwyr Essyllwg 2 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 135 | 11 | | Bradford DCA Knights A | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 128 | 11 | | Iceni 1 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 126 | 11 | | West is Best 2 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 123 | 11 | | North East England 2 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 119 | 11 | | Holmes Chapel | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 133 | 10 | | Manchester Manticores 1 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 128 | 10 | | Barnet Knights 1 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 127 | 10 | | Hackney 2 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 121 | 10 | | Cambridge University 3 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 118 | 10 | | Bradford DCA Knights B | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 114 | 10 | | Oxford 3 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 112 | 10 | | Iceni 2 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 102 | 10 | | BCM Hippos [3] | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 85 | 10 | | Jorvik | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 120 | 9 | | Throw in the Tal | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 115 | 9 | | Manchester Manticores 3 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 98 | 9 | | The Full Ponty | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 124 | 8 | | Celtic Tigers 2 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 112 | 8 | | Banbury Bulldogs | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 97 | 8 | | Anglian Avengers 3 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 90 | 8 | | Surbiton 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 89 | 8 | | Sussex Martlets 2 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 88 | 8 | | Broadland Harnsers [2] | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 50 | 8 | | KJCA Knights | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 111 | 7 | | Barnet Knights 2 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 88 | 7 | | Bradford DCA Knights C | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 84 | 7 | | Midland Monarchs 2 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 53 | 7 | | Cheddleton 3 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 92 | 5 | | Check Us Out | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 80 | 5 | | Witney Brown Jack | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 73 | 5 | | The Pitstop | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 85 | 4 | | e2e4.org.uk 5 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 64 | 4 | | Barnet Knights 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 102 | 0 | | West is Best 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |