Tony Miles: 'It's Only Me' England's First Chess Grandmaster

by Lawton, Geoff; Fox, Mike; Hunt, Malcolm

• ISBN13: 9780713488098
• ISBN10: 0713488093
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-01
• Publisher: Batsford

Summary

The charismatic Tony Miles has been much missed since his tragic and premature death in 2001. Regarded as one of England's greatest ever chess players and analysts, he was also one of the wittiest writers on the game. By sheer force of example and ebullient personality, he inspired the 'English chess explosion' after becoming the first UK grandmaster in the mid-70s. This fascinating collection of over a hundred games and articles, covering Tony's entire chess career, includes his most celebrated wins, a few losses, and -- in addition to the famous game against Karpov with the bizarre St George's opening 1 e4 a6 -- a less well known victory over the then world champion from a television tournament. All the games are annotated by Tony himself -- in his own inimitable style. This fitting tribute is rounded off with a review of Tony's original opening repertoire as well as personal appreciations by his Birmingham clubmates and friends Mike Fox, Malcolm Hunt and Geoff Lawton. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Geoff Lawton is an International Master who played alongside Tony in team competitions

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 5
Index of Openings	p. 6
Acknowledgements	p. 7
Foreword	p. 9
The Chess Career of Tony Miles	p. 11
"I played every night for a year until I got bored"	p. 23
"A cable"	p. 51
"I pushed Karpov all the way for first place at Tilburg"	p. 78
"I beat Spassky twice heavily--lovely games, very pretty"	p. 93
"I feel I'm overdue to win some tournaments"	p. 109
"I heard that Karpov felt insulted by my choice of opening" (including Interview at Lone Pine 1980 - 133)	p. 128
"When I play close to home it's the complex--I play badly"	p. 159
"The Impossible Challenge, Tilburg Interpolis 1985"	p. 175
"I get bored with playing the same thing all the time"	p. 198
"I am nostalgic for the days before computers were invented"	p. 218
Problems	p. 240
Solutions to Problems	p. 245
Articles	p. 252
Memories of a generous soul, a great bloke and a unique personality	p. 264
Tony Miles--one of my best and most loyal friends	p. 267
"Can you show me your game against Karpov where you played 1...a6, please Mr Miles?"	p. 271
"I have no style--I just make moves"	p. 278
Tony Miles's tournament, match and England national team record	p. 284
Index of Opponents	p. 288
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