Tony Miles
Encyclopedia
Anthony John Miles was an English chess
Grandmaster
.
, a suburb of Birmingham
. He learned the game of chess early in life and made good progress nationally, taking the titles of British under-14 Champion and under-21 Champion in 1968 and 1971, respectively.
In 1973, Miles won the silver medal at the World Junior Chess Championship
at Teesside
, his first important event against international competition. Both he and compatriot Michael Stean
defeated the tournament winner Alexander Beliavsky
, but were unable to match the Soviet player's ruthlessness in dispatching lesser opponents. Miles went on to win this prestigious title the following year in Manila
, while an undergraduate of the University of Sheffield
.
Taking the decision to pursue the game professionally, Miles did not complete his studies, but in 1975, was awarded an MA by the University for his chess achievements.
to the accolade. The naturalised, German-born Jacques Mieses
was awarded the GM title in 1950, while Keith Richardson had been awarded the GM title for correspondence chess earlier in the 1970s. For his achievement, Miles won a £5,000 prize, put up by wealthy businessman and chess backer Jim Slater.
Miles had a string of good results in the late 1970s and 1980s, and his success appeared to precipitate an explosion in the number of strong British players. Shortly after Miles became a GM, Raymond Keene, Michael Stean, John Nunn
, Jon Speelman
, and a number of others followed his example. Miles had meanwhile matured into a world class player and he won games against high calibre opponents, such as former World Chess Champions Vasily Smyslov
, Mikhail Tal
, and Boris Spassky
.
In 1980 at the European Team Championship in Skara
, he beat reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov
with black, using the extremely unorthodox opening
1. e4 a6!?, the St. George Defence. (It is often said that Miles learned this line from offbeat openings enthusiast Michael Basman
, though in his book Play the St. George, Basman asserts there is no truth to this.) Miles beat Karpov again three years later in Bath in a game that was part of the BBC
's Mastergame series, but it was only shown by the (co-producing) German television network, due to a BBC technicians' strike at the time of broadcast.
Miles won the British Championship
just once, in 1982 when the event was held in Torquay
. His prime time as a chess player was the mid-1980s. On the January 1984 Elo rating list
, he ranked No. 18 in the world with a rating of 2599. One of his best results occurred at the Tilburg tournament
in 1984, where, from a strong field, he emerged sole winner by a clear margin of one and a half points. The following year, he tied for first at the same event with Robert Hübner
and Viktor Korchnoi
, playing several of his games while lying face down on a table, having injured his back. The result was controversial, as many of Miles' opponents felt they were distracted by the unusual circumstances. A string of good performances culminated in a good showing on the January 1986 Elo rating list, where he climbed to a best-ever position of World No. 9 with a rating of 2610. During this period, there was considerable rivalry with John Nunn over who was Britain's best player, the two protagonists regularly leapfrogging each other in the world rankings. Nigel Short
and Jonathan Speelman would soon add to the competition, as the English national squad entered its strongest period.
Never able to qualify out of the Interzonal
stages into the Candidates' series
, Miles eventually lost the race to become the first British Candidate when Nigel Short did so in 1985. However, he retained top board for England at the Thessaloniki
and Dubai
Olympiads
of 1984 and 1986, helping the team to silver medals at each.
Against Garry Kasparov
, Miles had little success, not winning a game against him, and losing a 1986 match in Basel
by the overwhelming score of 5½–½. Following this encounter, Miles described Kasparov as a "monster with a thousand eyes who sees all" (some sources alternatively quote Miles as having the opinion that Kasparov had 22 or 27 eyes).
After he was hospitalized because of a mental breakdown in late 1987, Miles moved to the United States. He finished last in the 1988 U.S. Championship, but continued to play there and had some good results. In 1991, he played in the Championship of Australia, but eventually moved back to England and began to represent his home country again. He was equal first at the very strong Cappelle-la-Grande Open
in 1994, 1995, and 1997, and caused a shock at the PCA Intel Rapid Chess Grand Prix in London in 1995, when he knocked out Vladimir Kramnik
in the first round and Loek van Wely
in the second. His bid to win the event was finally halted in the semifinal by English teammate Michael Adams.
There were three notable victories at the Capablanca
Memorial in Cuba
(1995, 1996, and 1999). Miles also tied for first in the 1999 Continental Open in Los Angeles
with Alexander Beliavsky
, Ľubomír Ftáčnik
, and Suat Atalık
. His last tournament victory was the 2001 Canadian Open Chess Championship
in Sackville, New Brunswick
.
Miles entered and played at the 2001 British Championship in Scarborough, but withdrew before the final round, apparently because of ill health. His final two games before his death were short draws
in the Four Nations Chess League. Miles played in an extraordinary number of chess events during his career, including many arduous weekend tournaments.
The Miles Variation (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Bf4) in the Queen's Indian Defence is named after him.
, Birmingham
, after a friend called on him to take him to a bridge
club. He was cremated at Lodge Hill Crematorium in Selly Oak
on 23 November. There was a moment of silence before the seventh round of the European Team Championships in León Spain in his memory.
, UK, 1975), with Miles needing a draw for first place, and his opponent, Stewart Reuben
, wanting a draw for a high placing, he agreed a draw without playing any moves. The arbiter decided to give both players no points for this non-game; the players claimed this "game" had been played often, when players prearranged a draw – this was the only time it had been scored 0–0, rather than playing out some anodyne
non-moves. This sparked a hefty amount of correspondence in British chess journals.
Miles also had his disagreements with chess authorities and with his fellow English players, particularly Keene and Short
. Miles made accusations regarding payments that Keene had received from the British Chess Federation for acting as his second (assistant) in the 1985 Interzonal
tournament in Tunis
. Miles became rather obsessed with the affair, eventually suffering a mental breakdown
over it. He was arrested in September 1987 in Downing Street
, apparently under the belief that he had to speak to then-Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
about the matter. He was subsequently hospitalised for two months. Writing in the Daily Telegraph in November 2003, Nigel Short claimed that "Tony was insanely jealous of my success, and his inability to accept that he was no longer Britain's number one was an indication of, if not a trigger for, his descent into madness."
Miles was also noted for his acerbic wit. He often attacked chess personalities in published articles. He attacked former World Champion Anatoly Karpov
in an article entitled "Has Karpov Lost his Marbles?". Other victims of his published attacks were Woman Grandmaster Martha Fierro
and Indian Chess Organizer Umar Koya. His review of Eric Schiller
's book Unorthodox Chess Openings (Cardoza Publishing, 1998) which appeared in Kingpin consisted of just two words: "Utter crap".
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
.
Early achievements in chess
Miles was born in EdgbastonEdgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
, a suburb of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. He learned the game of chess early in life and made good progress nationally, taking the titles of British under-14 Champion and under-21 Champion in 1968 and 1971, respectively.
In 1973, Miles won the silver medal at the World Junior Chess Championship
World Junior Chess Championship
The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
at Teesside
Teesside
Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in the north east of England made up of the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Billingham and surrounding settlements near the River Tees. It was also the name of a local government district between 1968 and 1974—the County Borough of...
, his first important event against international competition. Both he and compatriot Michael Stean
Michael Stean
Michael Francis Stean is an English chess grandmaster and author.-Junior career:He learned to play chess before the age of five, developing a promising talent that led to junior honours, including the London under-14 and British under-16 titles.There was more progress in 1971, when he placed third...
defeated the tournament winner Alexander Beliavsky
Alexander Beliavsky
-External links:...
, but were unable to match the Soviet player's ruthlessness in dispatching lesser opponents. Miles went on to win this prestigious title the following year in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, while an undergraduate of the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
.
Taking the decision to pursue the game professionally, Miles did not complete his studies, but in 1975, was awarded an MA by the University for his chess achievements.
Further career highlights
In 1976, Miles became the first UK-born, 'over-the-board' chess Grandmaster, narrowly beating Raymond KeeneRaymond Keene
Raymond Dennis Keene OBE is an English chess Grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author.p196 He won the British Chess Championship in 1971, and was the first player from England to earn a Grandmaster norm, in 1974. In 1976 he became the second...
to the accolade. The naturalised, German-born Jacques Mieses
Jacques Mieses
----Jacques Mieses was a German-born Jewish chess Grandmaster and writer. He became a naturalized British citizen after World War II.p258-Chess career:...
was awarded the GM title in 1950, while Keith Richardson had been awarded the GM title for correspondence chess earlier in the 1970s. For his achievement, Miles won a £5,000 prize, put up by wealthy businessman and chess backer Jim Slater.
Miles had a string of good results in the late 1970s and 1980s, and his success appeared to precipitate an explosion in the number of strong British players. Shortly after Miles became a GM, Raymond Keene, Michael Stean, John Nunn
John Nunn
John Denis Martin Nunn is one of England's strongest chess players and once belonged to the world's top ten. He is also a three times world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician....
, Jon Speelman
Jon Speelman
Jonathan Simon "Jon" Speelman is an English Grandmaster chess player, mathematician and chess writer.-Early life and education:He was educated at Worcester College, Oxford, where he studied mathematics, earning a doctorate.-Career:...
, and a number of others followed his example. Miles had meanwhile matured into a world class player and he won games against high calibre opponents, such as former World Chess Champions Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
, Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
, and Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
.
In 1980 at the European Team Championship in Skara
Skara
Skara is a locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18595 inhabitants in 2005. Despite its small size, it has a long educational and ecclesiastical history. One of Sweden's oldest high schools, Katedralskolan , is situated in Skara...
, he beat reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
with black, using the extremely unorthodox opening
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
1. e4 a6!?, the St. George Defence. (It is often said that Miles learned this line from offbeat openings enthusiast Michael Basman
Michael Basman
Michael John Basman is an English chess player, chess author and International Master. He was awarded the International Master title in 1980...
, though in his book Play the St. George, Basman asserts there is no truth to this.) Miles beat Karpov again three years later in Bath in a game that was part of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Mastergame series, but it was only shown by the (co-producing) German television network, due to a BBC technicians' strike at the time of broadcast.
Miles won the British Championship
British Chess Championship
The British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
just once, in 1982 when the event was held in Torquay
Torquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
. His prime time as a chess player was the mid-1980s. On the January 1984 Elo rating list
Elo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
, he ranked No. 18 in the world with a rating of 2599. One of his best results occurred at the Tilburg tournament
Tilburg chess tournament
The Tilburg chess tournament was a series of very strong chess tournaments held in the Tilburg, The Netherlands. It was established in 1977 and ran continuously through 1994 under the sponsorship of Interpolis, an insurance company. Fontys Hogescholen shortly revived the tournament series from 1996...
in 1984, where, from a strong field, he emerged sole winner by a clear margin of one and a half points. The following year, he tied for first at the same event with Robert Hübner
Robert Hübner
Robert Hübner is a respected German chess Grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist . At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Chess Championship...
and Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
, playing several of his games while lying face down on a table, having injured his back. The result was controversial, as many of Miles' opponents felt they were distracted by the unusual circumstances. A string of good performances culminated in a good showing on the January 1986 Elo rating list, where he climbed to a best-ever position of World No. 9 with a rating of 2610. During this period, there was considerable rivalry with John Nunn over who was Britain's best player, the two protagonists regularly leapfrogging each other in the world rankings. Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
and Jonathan Speelman would soon add to the competition, as the English national squad entered its strongest period.
Never able to qualify out of the Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
stages into the Candidates' series
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
, Miles eventually lost the race to become the first British Candidate when Nigel Short did so in 1985. However, he retained top board for England at the Thessaloniki
26th Chess Olympiad
The 26th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between November 18 and December 5, 1984, in Thessaloniki, Greece.-References:...
and Dubai
27th Chess Olympiad
The 27th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between November 14 and December 2, 1986, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.-References:...
Olympiads
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
of 1984 and 1986, helping the team to silver medals at each.
Against Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
, Miles had little success, not winning a game against him, and losing a 1986 match in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
by the overwhelming score of 5½–½. Following this encounter, Miles described Kasparov as a "monster with a thousand eyes who sees all" (some sources alternatively quote Miles as having the opinion that Kasparov had 22 or 27 eyes).
After he was hospitalized because of a mental breakdown in late 1987, Miles moved to the United States. He finished last in the 1988 U.S. Championship, but continued to play there and had some good results. In 1991, he played in the Championship of Australia, but eventually moved back to England and began to represent his home country again. He was equal first at the very strong Cappelle-la-Grande Open
Cappelle-la-Grande Open
The Cappelle-la-Grande Open is a chess tournament held every year in Cappelle-la-Grande, France, since 1985.It has become over the years one of the strongest opens in the world, after the Aeroflot Open of Moscow...
in 1994, 1995, and 1997, and caused a shock at the PCA Intel Rapid Chess Grand Prix in London in 1995, when he knocked out Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
in the first round and Loek van Wely
Loek van Wely
Loek van Wely is a chess Grandmaster from the Netherlands. He won the Dutch Chess Championship six times straight from 2000 through 2005. He was rated among the world's top ten in 2001. In 2002, in Maastricht, Netherlands, van Wely took on the computer program Rebel in a four-game match. The...
in the second. His bid to win the event was finally halted in the semifinal by English teammate Michael Adams.
There were three notable victories at the Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
Memorial in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
(1995, 1996, and 1999). Miles also tied for first in the 1999 Continental Open in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
with Alexander Beliavsky
Alexander Beliavsky
-External links:...
, Ľubomír Ftáčnik
Lubomir Ftácnik
Ľubomír Ftáčnik is a Slovak chess player and a former European Junior Champion.He became European Junior Champion in 1976/77 and was awarded the International Master title shortly after...
, and Suat Atalık
Suat Atalik
Suat Atalık is a Grandmaster of chess. As of the July 2009 FIDE rating list, he is ranked number 165 in the world and number two in Turkey, behind Mikhail Gurevich....
. His last tournament victory was the 2001 Canadian Open Chess Championship
Canadian Open Chess Championship
The Canadian Open Chess Championship is Canada's Open chess championship, first held in 1956, and held annually since 1973, usually in mid-summer. It is organized by the Chess Federation of Canada....
in Sackville, New Brunswick
Sackville, New Brunswick
Sackville is a Canadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.Mount Allison University is located in the town...
.
Miles entered and played at the 2001 British Championship in Scarborough, but withdrew before the final round, apparently because of ill health. His final two games before his death were short draws
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
in the Four Nations Chess League. Miles played in an extraordinary number of chess events during his career, including many arduous weekend tournaments.
The Miles Variation (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Bf4) in the Queen's Indian Defence is named after him.
Death
Miles suffered from diabetes and a post mortem found that this contributed to his death by heart failure in 2001. His body was found at his home in HarborneHarborne
Harborne is an area three miles southwest from Birmingham city centre, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward in the formal district and in the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Edgbaston.- Geography :...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, after a friend called on him to take him to a bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
club. He was cremated at Lodge Hill Crematorium in Selly Oak
Selly Oak
Selly Oak is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The suburb is bordered by Bournbrook and Selly Park to the north-east, Edgbaston and Harborne to the north, Weoley Castle and Weoley Hill to the west, and Bournville to the south...
on 23 November. There was a moment of silence before the seventh round of the European Team Championships in León Spain in his memory.
Personality
Miles was in many ways a controversial figure. Once, in the last round of a tournament (LutonLuton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, UK, 1975), with Miles needing a draw for first place, and his opponent, Stewart Reuben
Stewart Reuben
Stewart Reuben is a British chess player, organiser and arbiter. He has officiated at and/or organised a number of high-level chess events held in Britain and elsewhere, including the world chess championship, and was chief organiser of British Chess Championship Congresses for a number of years...
, wanting a draw for a high placing, he agreed a draw without playing any moves. The arbiter decided to give both players no points for this non-game; the players claimed this "game" had been played often, when players prearranged a draw – this was the only time it had been scored 0–0, rather than playing out some anodyne
Anodyne
In medicine before the 20th century, an anodyne was a medicine that was believed to relieve or soothe pain by lessening the sensitivity of the brain or nervous system In medicine before the 20th century, an anodyne was a medicine that was believed to relieve or soothe pain by lessening the...
non-moves. This sparked a hefty amount of correspondence in British chess journals.
Miles also had his disagreements with chess authorities and with his fellow English players, particularly Keene and Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
. Miles made accusations regarding payments that Keene had received from the British Chess Federation for acting as his second (assistant) in the 1985 Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
tournament in Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
. Miles became rather obsessed with the affair, eventually suffering a mental breakdown
Mental breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
over it. He was arrested in September 1987 in Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
, apparently under the belief that he had to speak to then-Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
about the matter. He was subsequently hospitalised for two months. Writing in the Daily Telegraph in November 2003, Nigel Short claimed that "Tony was insanely jealous of my success, and his inability to accept that he was no longer Britain's number one was an indication of, if not a trigger for, his descent into madness."
Miles was also noted for his acerbic wit. He often attacked chess personalities in published articles. He attacked former World Champion Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
in an article entitled "Has Karpov Lost his Marbles?". Other victims of his published attacks were Woman Grandmaster Martha Fierro
Martha Fierro
Martha Lorena Fierro Baquero is a chess player. She holds the FIDE player titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster and the FIDE training title of FIDE Trainer, acquired after successful examination at the FIDE Seminar for Coaches in Vung Tau on 29.10.2008. She has represented Ecuador...
and Indian Chess Organizer Umar Koya. His review of Eric Schiller
Eric Schiller
Eric Schiller is an American chess player, trainer, arbiter and one of the most prolific authors of books on chess in the 20th century.-Early life and education:...
's book Unorthodox Chess Openings (Cardoza Publishing, 1998) which appeared in Kingpin consisted of just two words: "Utter crap".
Notable game
- Karpov–Miles, Skara 1980, St. George Defence, 0–1 The famous game between Karpov and Miles with the opening line 1. e4 a6.
Further reading
- Geoff Lawton (compiler), Tony Miles: "It's Only Me" (an anagramAnagramAn anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
of Miles' name) (Batsford, 2003) – mainly articles by Miles and games annotated by him, with a small number of tributes from other writers
External links
- Obituary from The Week in Chess
- Article from The Week in Chess
- Obituary at the British Chess Federation site
- Obituary in the Guardian
- Personal reminiscenses from Geoff Chandler
- "Has Karpov Lost his Marbles?" – a short article by Miles
- Two of Miles' book reviews
- Miles' finger-notes at the Internet Chess Club, where he often played
- Karpov vs Miles Multimedia annotated game