Tony Miles

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Anthony John Miles (23 April 1955 – November 12, 2001) was the first Englishman to win the Grandmaster title in over-the-board play.

Early and personal life

Miles was an only child, born in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham, on April 23, 1955. He attended King Edward's School, Birmingham. He was married and divorced twice, and had no children. Jana Hartston, Miles' first wife, had earlier been married to William Hartston.

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Early chess career

He learned chess early in life and made swift strides nationally, winning the titles of British Under-14 Champion and Under-21 Champion in 1968 and 1971, respectively.

Miles earned the silver medal at the World Junior Chess Championship in Teesside, his first major event against international competition in 1973. Both he and compatriot Michael Stean defeated tournament champion Alexander Beliavsky, but they were unable to match the Soviet player's ruthlessness in dispatching lesser opponents. Miles continued to win the prestigious award in Manila the following year, while a University of Sheffield mathematics undergraduate.

Miles did not complete his education, but the university gave him an MA in 1975 for his chess accomplishments.

Later career

Miles became the first British-born, over-the-board grandmaster in 1976, barely beating Raymond Keene to the honour. In 1950, the naturalized, German-born Jacques Mieses was awarded the GM title, though Keith Richardson had been named GM champion for correspondence chess earlier in the 1970s. Miles won a £5,000 reward for his exploits, backed by wealthy businessman and chess backer Jim Slater.

Miles had a string of good results in the late 1970s and 1980s. He developed into a world class star and played against top calibre opponents, including former World Chess Champions Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, and Boris Spassky.

He defeated reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov with Black in 1980 at the European Team Championship in Skara, using the unusual opening 1. e4 a6! The St. George Defence Force. Miles was often told that he received the line from offbeat openings enthusiast Michael Basman, but Basman's book Play the St. George argues that there is no truth to this. Miles beat Karpov in Bath three years ago as part of the BBC's Master Game collection, but it was only on the (co-producing) German television network at the time of broadcast, 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. He appeared in the mid-1980s in his prime as a chess player. Miles set a European record in blind simultaneous chess in Roetgen (Germany) on May 20th (1984) (1012=10)); this record was not broken until 2009. He was ranked No. 1 on the Elo rating list in January 1984. With a rating of 2599, the 18th century's best-ranked world record is ranked 18th in the world. One of his best performances came at the 1984 Tilburg tournament, where he emerged sole champion by a wide margin of one and one-half points from a large field. He placed first at the same tournament with Robert Hübner and Viktor Korchnoi in the first year, playing multiple of his games face down on a table after injuring his back. The result was tumultuous, as several of Miles' protesters felt they were distracted by the unusual circumstances. A string of good performances culminated in a good showing on the Elo rating list in January 1986, where he climbed to his highest-ever position of World No. 1. With a rating of 2610, nine out of ten is rated. The two protagonists were regularly leapfrogging each other in the world rankings during this period. John Nunn was the United Kingdom's top player in the contest. As the English national team's squad entered its best period in history, Nigel Short and Speelman were soon added to the competition.

Miles eventually dropped out of the interzonal stages into the Candidates' series, becoming the first British candidate when Short failed to qualify in 1985. However, he retained top board for England during the 1984 and 1986 Olympiads, helping the team win silver medals at each.

Miles had no luck against Garry Kasparov, despite not winning a match against him, and lost a 1986 match in Basel by the score of 512–112. Miles said "I felt I was playing the world champion, not a thousand eye that sees everything" after this encounter (some sources alternatively state that Miles had 22 or 27 eyes).

Miles migrated to the United States after being hospitalized as a result of a mental illness in late 1987. He came last in the 1988 United States Championship, but he continued to play there and had some good results. In 1991, he competed in the Championship of Australia, but later returned to England and began to represent his country again. He finished first at the Cappelle-la-Grande Open in 1994, 1995, and 1997, and he caused a surprise surprise in 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 second. Michael Adams, an English teammate's attempt to win the tournament, was finally suspended in the semifinals.

The Capablanca Memorial in Cuba (1994, 1995, 1996, and 1999) had four major victories (199, 1995, 1996, and 1999). Miles finished first in the 1999 Continental Open in Los Angeles with Alexander Beliavsky, mr Ftáck, and Suat Atalk. The 2001 Canadian Open Chess Championship in Sackville, New Brunswick, was his last tournament victory.

Miles registered and competed at the 2001 British Championship in Scarborough, but they were disqualified early in the final round due to poor health. In the Four Nations Chess League, his last two games before his death were short draws. Miles competed in an astonishing array of chess tournaments over his career, including several arduous weekend tournaments.

The Miles Variation (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 b6 4.Bf4) in the Queen's Indian Defence is named after him.

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