View source for Tony Miles

{{Short description|English chess grandmaster (1955–2001)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox chess biography
| name        = Tony Miles
| image       = Anthony Miles 1977.jpg
| caption     = Miles in 1977
<!-- Personal information -->
| birth_name  = Anthony John Miles
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1955|04|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham]], England
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2001|11|12|1955|04|23|df=y}}
| death_place = Birmingham, England
<!-- Chess career -->
| country     = England
| title       = [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] (1976)
| peakrating  = 2635 (January 1996)
| peakranking = No. 9 (January 1986)
}}

'''Anthony John Miles''' (23 April 1955 – 12 November 2001) was an English [[chess]] player and the first Englishman to earn the [[International Grandmaster|Grandmaster]] title.

==Early and personal life==
Miles was born on 23 April 1955 in [[Edgbaston]], a suburb of [[Birmingham]], and attended [[King Edward's School, Birmingham]].<ref name=Grauniad>[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/nov/14/guardianobituaries Tony Miles], ''The Guardian'', 14 November 2001</ref><ref name=Telegraph>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1362326/Tony-Miles.html Tony Miles], ''The Daily Telegraph'', 14 November 2001</ref> He was married and divorced twice, and had no children.<ref name=Grauniad/> Miles's first wife was [[Jana Bellin|Jana Hartston]], who had previously been married to [[William Hartston]].<ref name=Telegraph/>

==Early chess career==
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<ref name=Grauniad/> and 1971,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pritchett|first1=Craig|last2=Kopec|first2=Danny|title=Chess World Title Contenders and Their Styles|date=2012|publisher=Dover Chess|isbn=978-1306356558|page=3|ref=1971 British Under-21 Chess Championship}}</ref><ref name="1971 British Under-21 Chess Championship">{{cite web|title=British Chess Game Archive|url=http://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/197108bcf-viewer.html|website=British Chess Game Archive|access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> 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 a mathematics undergraduate of the [[University of Sheffield]].<ref name=Grauniad/><ref name=Telegraph/>

Taking the decision to pursue the game professionally, Miles did not complete his studies; however, in 1975, he was awarded an [[Master of Arts|MA]] by the university in respect of his chess achievements.<ref name=Telegraph/>

==Later career==
{{AN chess|pos=secright}}

In 1976, Miles became the first UK-born, {{chessgloss|over-the-board}} chess [[grandmaster (chess)|grandmaster]], narrowly beating [[Raymond Keene]] to the accolade.<ref name=Telegraph/> The naturalised, German-born [[Jacques Mieses]] was awarded the GM title in 1950, while [[Keith Richardson (chess grandmaster)|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 (accountant)|Jim Slater]].<ref name=Grauniad/><ref name=Telegraph/>

[[File:Anthony Miles 1976.jpg|thumb|upright=0.90|left|Miles (Amsterdam, 1976)]]
Miles had a string of good results in the late 1970s and 1980s. He matured into a world-class player and won games against high-calibre opponents such as former [[World Chess Champion]]s [[Vasily Smyslov]], [[Mikhail Tal]] and [[Boris Spassky]].

In 1980, at the [[European Team Chess Championship|European Team Championship]] in [[Skara]], he beat reigning World Champion [[Anatoly Karpov]] with Black, using the extremely unorthodox [[chess opening|opening]] 1. e4 a6!?, the [[St. George Defence]]. It is often said that Miles learned the line from offbeat-openings enthusiast [[Michael Basman]], but in his book ''Play the St. George'', Basman asserts there is no truth to this. Miles beat Karpov again three years later in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] in a game that was part of the [[BBC]]'s ''[[The Master Game|Master Game]]'' series, but it was shown only by the (co-producing) German television network due to a BBC technicians' strike at the time of broadcast.

Miles won the [[British Chess Championship|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 20 May 1984 in [[Roetgen]] (Germany), Miles set a European record in blind simultaneous chess with 22 games (+10−2=10);<ref>Edward Winter, [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/miles.html Tony Miles (1955–2001)], ''chesshistory.com''</ref> this record was not broken until 2009. On the January 1984 [[Elo rating system|Elo rating list]], he ranked No. 18 in the world with a rating of 2599. One of his best results occurred at the [[Tilburg chess tournament|Tilburg tournament]] in 1984, where, from a strong field, he emerged sole winner by a clear margin of one and one-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.<ref>[http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/new-in-ceasefire/chess-corner-4/ Miles]</ref> The result was controversial, as many of Miles's 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 the United Kingdom's best player, the two protagonists regularly leapfrogging each other in the world rankings. [[Nigel Short]] and [[Jon Speelman]] soon added to the competition, as the English national squad entered its strongest period.

Never able to qualify out of the [[Interzonal]] stages into the [[Candidates Tournament|Candidates' series]], Miles eventually lost the race to become the first British Candidate when Short did so in 1985. However, he retained top board for England at the [[26th Chess Olympiad|Thessaloniki]] and [[27th Chess Olympiad|Dubai]] [[Chess Olympiad|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 score of 5½–½. Following this encounter, Miles commented "I thought I was playing the world champion, not a monster with a thousand eyes who sees everything" (some sources alternatively quote Miles as having the opinion that Kasparov had 22 or 27 eyes).

[[File:Anthony Miles Tilburg 1985.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|Miles on a stretcher with back pain, playing in [[Tilburg]] (1985)]]
After he was hospitalised 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, such as a victory in the 1990 [[U.S. Masters Chess Championship]]. In 1991, he played in the Championship of Australia, but eventually moved back to England and began to represent his native 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 (chess player)|Michael Adams]].
 
There were four notable victories at the [[José Raúl Capablanca|Capablanca]] Memorial in [[Cuba]] (1994, 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, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]], but withdrew before the final round, apparently because of ill health. His final two games before his death were short [[draw (chess)|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 [[List of chess openings named after people|named]] after him.

==Death==
Miles died from heart failure on 12 November 2001. His body was found at his home in [[Harborne]], [[Birmingham]], after a friend called on him to take him to a [[Contract bridge|bridge]] club.<ref name=Grauniad/> He had suffered from [[diabetes]] and a post-mortem examination found that this contributed to his death. He was cremated at [[Lodge Hill Cemetery|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, León|León]], Spain, in his memory.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://theweekinchess.com/chessnews/obituaries/tony-miles-1955-2001 |title=Tony Miles 1955–2001  |last=Pein |first=Malcolm |date=11 November 2011 |website=The Week in Chess |access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref>

==Personality==
Miles was often seen as a controversial figure. Once, in the last round of a tournament ([[Luton]], 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 meaningless moves. This sparked lengthy correspondence in British chess journals.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/chess-1-746681 |title=Chess |date=14 May 2007 |website=The Scotsman |language=en |access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://gambiter.com/chess/history/1975_chess.html |title=1975 in chess |website=Gambiter |language=en |access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref>

Miles also clashed 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 assistant in the 1985 [[Interzonal]] tournament in [[Tunis]]. Miles became 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://theweekinchess.com/html/twic367.html#2| title=Tony Miles 1955-2001 | date= 19 November 2001| website=The Week in Chess | access-date=16 July 2020}}</ref> Writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'' in November 2003, Short said that "Tony was insanely jealous of my success, and his inability to accept that he was no longer the UK's number one was an indication of, if not a trigger for, his descent into madness."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/chess/3607597/The-Sunday-chess-column.html |title=The Sunday chess column | first=Nigel | last=Short | date=30 November 2003 | access-date=12 October 2012}}</ref>

Miles was also noted for his acerbic wit; according to [[Gennadi Sosonko|Genna Sosonko]], he was "a master of the laconic barb, the sarcastic remark, and he was never at a loss for words".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sosonko |first=Genna |title=The reliable past |publisher=New in Chess |year=2003 |isbn=90-5691-114-7 |location=Alkmaar, The Netherlands |pages=21}}</ref> He often attacked chess personalities in published articles. He attacked former World Champion [[Anatoly Karpov]] in an article entitled "Has Karpov Lost his Marbles?"<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tony|first=Miles|date=April 1986|title=Has Karpov Lost His Marbles?|url=https://www.kingpinchess.net/2015/02/has-karpov-lost-his-marbles/|access-date=2020-07-28|website=Kingpin Chess Magazine}}</ref> His review of [[Eric Schiller]]'s book ''Unorthodox Chess Openings'' (Cardoza Publishing, 1998) which appeared in ''Kingpin'' consisted of just two words: "Utter crap."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.chess.co.uk/kingpin/Kingpin/book_reviews.htm#Unorthodox | title=Book Reviews | publisher=Kingpin | access-date=12 October 2012 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902083854/http://www.chess.co.uk/kingpin/Kingpin/book_reviews.htm#Unorthodox | archive-date=2 September 2012 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==Notable games==
*[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1068157 Karpov vs. Miles, Skara 1980. St. George Defence: 0–1]. The game between Karpov and Miles with the opening line 1.e4 a6.
*[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1097114 Miles vs. Spassky, 1982. Queen's Indian Opening: 1–0]. A crushing sacrificial attack against Spassky, then still one of the world's strongest players.
*[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1067001 Karpov vs. Miles, Bath 1983, Caro–Kann: 0–1]. Another win against Karpov{{spaced ndash}}then world champion{{spaced ndash}}and again with black. Miles chooses a less popular system in the Caro–Kann and succeeds in creating an unbalanced game where both sides can play for the win.

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*Geoff Lawton (compiler), ''Tony Miles: "It's Only Me"'' (an [[anagram]] of Miles's name) (Batsford, 2003) – mainly articles by Miles and games annotated by him, with a small number of tributes from other writers

==External links==
*{{365Chess.com player|Anthony_Miles}}
*{{Chessgames player|15843|Anthony Miles}}
*{{OlimpBase player|mwc4084j|Anthony John Miles}}
*{{OlimpBase FIDE ratings|Miles,%20Anthony%20J.|Anthony J. Miles}}
*[http://www.bcf.org.uk/national/2002/obit-miles.htm Obituary at the British Chess Federation site]

{{English GMs}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Tony}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Chess Grandmasters]]
[[Category:Chess theoreticians]]
[[Category:Chess Olympiad competitors]]
[[Category:English chess players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:English chess writers]]
[[Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Sheffield]]
[[Category:World Junior Chess Champions]]
[[Category:People from Edgbaston]]
[[Category:20th-century British chess players]]