Tony Miles It's Only Me - Mike Fox, 2003.pdf - Szachy - j.cz.prc

Contents

1: The Chess Career of Tony Miles II

2: "I played every night for a year unlil l gal bored" 23

3: "A cable" 51

4: "I pushed Karpov all the way for first place at Til b ug " 78

5: "I beat Spassky twice heavily-lovely games, very pretty" 93

6: "I feel I'm overdue to win some toumaments" 109

7: "1 heard that Karpov felt insulted by my choice of opening" 128

(including Interview at Lone Pine 1980 - 133)

8: "When I play close to home it's the complex-l play badly" 159

9: "The Impossible Challenge, Tilburg Inlerpolis 1985 " 175

10: "I get bored with playing the same thing all the time" 198

11: "I am nostalgic for the days before computers were invented" 218

12: Problems

240

13: Solutions to Problems

245

14: Aticles

252

IS: Memories ora generous soul, a great bloke'

and a unique personality

264

16: Tony Milesone of my best and most loyal riends

267

17: "Can you show me your game against Karpov

where you playd 1 ... 36, please Mr Miles?"

271

18: "I have no style-I just make moves"

278

Tony Miles's tounament, match

and England national team record

Index of Opponents

284

288

Introduction

Inde" of Openings

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Leonard Barden

Introduction

Acknowledgements

n November 200 I > the

chessworld was shocked by

the news that Tony Miles,

Engl:nd's first-and most

inluential-grandmaster, had

died suddenly at his home in

Birmingham at only 46 years of age.

By way of tribute we have now

compiled a selection of Tony's most

interesting g3mes with his own

commentaries. Also included are

some of his most memorable articles

such as 'Has Karpov losl his

marbles?' from Kingpin, togethcr

with a number of chess brain·teasers

he set .is readers and a rare

interview he gave at Lone Pine

1980.

The majority of the annotations

are taken from Tony Miles's chess

column in the New Statesmall which

he conducted from 1976 to 1981-

a period in which he developed inlo

a world class player-and rom his

contributions to Chess magazine,

first as a budding junior and later as

a hardened campaigner on the

gruelling chess circuit.

In addition there are a fair number

of good games which he never fully

annotated in words but only with

analytical symbols. Games from

Tilburg 1984, probably his finest

tounament victory, and thrilling

encounters such as Miles

Belyavsky, Tilburg 1986, one of his

most famous wins, have been taken

from his InJormator and Chess

Player notes (where we have

replaced the symbols with words).

We were, however, disappointed not

to ind comments on more of his

instructive games with the English

Defence, perhaps his favourite

opening. Surely he annotated more

than those we have managed to

unearth here?

Chapter headings come in Ihe

fonn of Miles quotes which

highlight key aspects of his 30 year

chess career or specific character

traits. Meanwhile the tounament

record will provide a basis for

funher research, since he

undoubtedly played more events

than those listed here. We have also

endeavoured to give a glimpse of

Miles the man, through our own

personal recollections, particularly

relating to his school years and his

conibulions to junior chess in the

Midlands.

Throughout the book, unless

otherwise stated, any commentaries

or quotes are by Tony himsel.

Finally, in case you didn't realise,

"It's Only Me" is an anagram of

Tony Miles, and was one of his

handles on Ihe Intenet Chess Club.

We feel fortunate to have known

Tony and it has been a pleasure to

compile this book in his memory.

We do hope it does him justice and

that readers will enjoy his colourful

writing and chess annotations.

ur sincere thanks to

Tony Miles's family.

paticularly to his

cousin Pam and his

late Aunt Dev, who

unfortunately passed

away shortly ater Tony. They

generously gave us their time and

acccss 10 his archives.

Audio Chess

'Tony Miles Grandmaster'-Tony

talking to Mike 8asman about

Duhna 1976.

Games 15 to 18.

'Chess Cafe website'

Miles's column started in 1999.

Games 115, 117, 118.

Article: 'The Holey Wohly?'

Kinpin magazine

Article; 'Has Karpov Lost His

Marbles?'

Book reviews: Unorthodox Chess

Ope/lings, Secrets oj Millor-Piece

Endings, Samllrai Chess: Mastering

the Martial Art oJthe Mind

lnformator

Games 21, 36, 37, 45, 69 to 72,

75, 79 to 82, 89. 94, 95, 97, 104,

106.116.

Inside Chess

Games 90 10 93.

'The Chess Player' Series (Tony

Gillam)

Games 13, 14, (15 to 18 exclams).

Part of the introduction to Miles·

Larsen, London 1980. is taken from

Londa" 1980 by Tony Miles.

Annotations

reproduced from

publications:

The following publications have

given their pennission to reproduce

Tony Miles's work;

New Statesman magazine

Milcs's chess column ran fom

mid 1976 to early 1981.

Games 9, 22 to 25, 27 to 30. 32 to

35,38 to 41, 43, 44, 46, 51 to 68.

Articles; 'Noise at Hastings',

'Russian Prodigy', 'Kasparov at the

Olympiad', 'Making sense of chess

books'

Problem Numbers: 2 10 18.

New In Chess magazine

'The Impossible Challenge'

Tilburg Interpol is 1985 tounament

report.

Games 83 to 88,114.

Chess magazine

Early games up to around the time

of Dubna 1976, and again from

around 1994 onwards:

Games 3 to 8, 10 tol2, 19,7610

78, 96,98 to 103. 105, 107 to 113.

Article: 'Blindfold Simultaneous

Exhibition 1984', 'Tony Miles

says .. . •

have

th'

been

following

Chess £rpress (deunct)

Games 73. 74.

llitematiollal Chess (defunct)

Games 42. 47 to 50.

IBM Schaktoernooi

Games 20. 31.

8 Acknowledgements

Main sources for quotes

Chess Cafe website, Kinpin

magazine, The Chess Player Series,

Chess Life (USA), Inside Chess

(USA), Intenet Chess Club, Chess

Assistant: Miles's database (Monica

Vann), The English Chess Explosion

from Miles 10 Storf Keene &

Chandler, British Chess Bonerill,

Levy, Rice, Richardson, Best Games

of the Young Grandmasters Kopec

& Pritchett, European Junior

Cltampionship Grollingen 1972

tounament book, Tony Mils

Grandmaster audio cassette (Audio

Chess UK), 1976 taped conves

ation with Stephen Gordon

(National Open 1976), IBM Schaak

toenooi 1976 tounament book,

IBM ScJwktoenooi 1977 toun

ament book, London 1980 Tony

Miles, LondOIl 1980 Hartston &

Reuben, Tilburg Imerpolis 1984

tounament book, The Mosler Game

James & Barden, The Master Game

(book 2) James & Hartston, The

Sicilian Dragon Miles & Moskow,

The English Defence King, MeO

Tenth edition Kom, Moden

Opening Traps Chemev, A

Complete Defelice for Black Keene

& Jacobs, Best Chess Games

1970-1980 Speelman, Endgame

Strategy Shereshevsky, Birmingham

Evening Mail/Post and national

newspaper archives (Binningham

Central Library).

Miles's quotes are taken from the

New in Chess interview with Miles

in 1984, S.W.Gordon interviews

with Miles rom 1976 and 1980,

Chess, British Chess Magazine, New

Statesman, Chess Life, Best Games

of the Young Grandmasters by

Kopec & Pritchett, London 1980 by

Miles, National newspapers,

Birmingham Evening Mail, and

BBC TV programs.

Foreword

by Leonard Barden

ony Miles was the chess

player who inspired

English talent to defeat

Soviet grandmasters and

even challenge them for

world supremacy. He

was a competitive professional, n

source of fresh and original opening

ideas, a patient strategist ready to

win in 100 moves, and a first prize

winner at the highest level. Yet

Miles never forgot his roolS,

competing on the English weekend

circuit in his prime and later leading

Slough to national team titles.

I recall an early image of Tony

and his fierce will to succeed, when

he played Kuzmin in the England v

USSR match in the European

championship at Bath 1973.

Kuzmin was a bruiser, hard-faced

and muscular, while Tony already

had his trademark manneisms as he

poured his glass of milk and placd

his wristwatch over his score sheet

to hide his notation, which he

recorded n Cyrillic to Kuzmin's

evident bewilderment. They

whipped out their moves staccato,

and as time pressure loomed at the

end of the session play became

almost physical as they leaned

towards each other like a couple of

heavyweights.

Tony's schoolboy talent blossom

ed around 1970 at just the right time

for himself and for British chess.

Older masters were retired or past

their best, while a younger group

\cd by Keene and Hartston seemed

unlikely to scale the heights.

Abroad, Fischer and Larsen were

defeating Russians in a style which

excited the chess publ ic. The search

was on for an Englishman who

could also take on the Soviets.

Jim Slater, then the City's most

dynamic young financier, was

already backing a talent programme

and an English bid for the junior

World Championship. Ater his

money saved the FisctJer v Spassky

match in Reykjavik rom collapse,

he ofered a £5,000 prize for the

irst English grandmaster. Slater

considered going urther with

£10,000 for an Englishman reaching

the world top 30, but decided to

wait. Just as well, since his business

collapsed in the next two years and

the higher prize could not have been

honoured.

The race with Keene for the Slater

award triggered a fresh advance in

Tony's strength. In 1976 he tied for

irst with Korchnoi at Amsterdam,

in 1977 he was second to aov at

Tilburg and in the BBC Master

Game, and in 1978 he brilliantly

beat Spassky at Montilla. So Tony

concluded that "the only thing let is

to have a go at Karpov".

I'm not sure if it was a wise move

to make this public. As post

glasnost documents revealed, the

Soviets had a dedicated programme

to try to stop Fischer, and I have the

impression that ater 1978 USSR

The fo llowing people have

provided help and advice

Jimmy Adams, Michael Basman,

James Coleman, Chris Duncan,

Malcolm Pein (Chess & Bridge

Lr), Leonard Barden, Benard

Cafferty, Roger De Coverly, John

Donaldson, Tony Gillam, Bill

Gordon, Stephen Gordon, BiB

Hartston, Richard James, Nigel

Johnson, Andrew Morley, Richard

Parsons, Jodie Soame (New

Slatesman), Monica Vann, Roelof

Westra.

References

New Statesman magazine, Chess

magazine, British Chess Magazine,

New II Chess magazine and

Yearbooks, In formalor volumes,

10 Foreword

grandmnsters plnyed specially hard

against Miles. This clenrly happened

at the 1979 Riga Interzonal where

Tony (whose preparation had

typically been a few UK week

enders) stated among the leaders

but then fell back when he met the

Russians. His famous win over

Karpov at Skan 1980 was an

exception to the World Champion's

convincing victories in many of

their other games 3t this time.

Karpov's post-game fury when he

branded I 4 a6 as lese mujesle is

consistent with shame 3t letting the

side down by failing to subdue the

Westen upstat.

Aler Riga, Mile� llcilly

abandoned his pretentions to the

world crown 3nd played to his

strengths as a top GM. He again

beat Karpov in the BBC Master

Game 1983, while his irst place at

Tilburg 1984 was the inest British

tounament result by anyone up to

that time. He totalled 8/ 11, was Ph

points clear of the ield, and

defeated three world candidates. At

Tilburg 1985 he injured his back,

playd stomach down on a massage

table, and rducd his opponents to

a petition against the table.

Miles's vintage period ended with

his ill-health and his '22-eyed

monster' defeat by Kasparov in

1986. A decade later, he relaunched

his career by combining tounament

play with coaching, writing, and

leading the Slough team. He won

the Capablanca Memorial in Cuba

three times, and gained many new

admirers with his witty Chess Caf e

intenet column and his contrib

utions to Kinpin magazine. He

poked fun at the pretentious. and put

foward constructive ideas 10

improve the world chess scene. The

humour and warmth of Miles the

man comes through in his writing.

Tony's legacy to British chess can

be seen in the successes of our

players in the two decades ater he

won a world title and beat the

feignin� World Champion. He

broke the baTier of over-respect for

Russians, and set a high achieve

ment target for his friends and

contemporaries. Tony showed that

in chess you have to demand the

best from yourself, and that became

the English chess ethos. Michael

Adams, Nigel Short, Jon Speelm3n,

John Nunn and Matthew Sadler are

only the cream of many who

over-fulfilled what could have been

reasonable expectations from them

when they were juniors. In his inal

years Tony was passionately

involved in junior coaching, so I

hope this book will help inspire

uture generations of English talent

to aim for the heights.

1: The Chess Career

of Tony Miles

ony Miles was bon on

St.George's Day-April

23d 1955, in Edgbaston,

Binningham-the son of

Jennie and Jack Miles.

'/ learned 10 play from my father

at age five. / played every I/ighl for

a year IIl1til / got bored. / Ihen

'retired' for three years. My life in

chess really began iS a ype of

accident, since / started playing a/

school when / was nil/e. There was

a chess craze it Ihe time and / found

that / was good at the game. /

always beat everyone, including

teachers.'

From the age of II he played

competitive chess several times a

week. his was the beginning of a

patten of intense chess activity that

was to last his whole career. The

young Miles loved all kinds of

spons-rugby, cricket, swimming,

athletics-but in the field of chess

came the realization '/

which was to become even more

pronouncd later. He seemed to

prefer 10 go his own way, rather

than hed the opinions of others.

Miles attended King Edwards

School in Edgbaston which set

demanding academic standards. His

school reports paint a clear picture

of the pupil doing just enough work

to get by, while concentrating on the

more important matter of perfecting

his skills at the game he played so

well! One tat comment, from

General Studies, gives the flavour of

the reports:

'Perhaps olle day he will realise

Ihere are more Ihings in heaven and

earth than chess. At the momelll he

cannot conceive of such a

possibiliy. Thus his only creditable

activiy iI/ this subject s been thai

he has tuned up. Othen'ise he has

said nothing, done nothing, and

looked prety bored. He needs to

learn the inestimable value of

intellectual humiliy.'

In 1967, he started playing in the

Binningh3m Easter Conresses, un

by Ritson Morry, the Midland and

Hastings chess organizer. He won

the West Midlands Under-12 title

but, more remarkably, inished

unner-up in the Birmingham Open

Speed Championships. In his irst

national competition, aged 12, he

scored 50% in the British Under-14

Championship, losing to title winner

John Nunn. In the Birmingham

Easter Congress 1968, he played no

hud

something special.'

At II he won the Birmingh3m

Primary Schools Championship, and

subsequently joined the Binning

ham Chess Club, where some of the

stronger pl3yers encouraged the

promising schoolboy-in p3rticular

Benard Caferty and Peter Gibbs,

even if today they both tend to play

down their role, saying he received

no formal coaching. But one thing is

cetain-already apparent at this

young age was Miles's independ

ence of thought and self-reliance,

Tony Miles It's Only Me - Mike Fox, 2003.pdf

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