Following our narrow defeat in the penultimate round, we were pessimistic about our chances of promotion. However, it was still possible if we won and the right combintation of results occurred in the other matches. We were up against Warwickshire Select 2 and I was paired against Nicholas Fallowfield, whom I had previous played in one of my very first correspondence chess games back in 1989! I was able to score a win in only 24 moves, which put us one up. Although there were a few tense moments in the other games, our players held firm for a draw in all of them, which gave us the necessary victory. It was then down to the other matches, which also went in our favour, so against the odds we had won promotion!
My game against Nick Fallowfield featured the same opening as in our 1989 encounter, although I chose a different line as White. I managed to achieve a significant advantage out of the opening, although a couple of inaccuracies then allow my opponent a chance to get back into the game. However, he failed to take it and resigned promptly when it was obvious that his position was hopeless. To be faired, he had been forced to find a series of difficult moves over the board already, and the position was such that it was not easy to find the correct path.
I give the game below with some notes.