An early Tony Miles game

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Gerard Killoran
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An early Tony Miles game

Post by Gerard Killoran » Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:44 am

The British Newspaper Archive has now posted The Birmingham Mail and Post with columns by B H Wood and P C Gibbs. Here's an example:


Birmingham Post, November 8, 1969.jpg
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Roger de Coverly
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Roger de Coverly » Thu Oct 12, 2017 10:51 am

Gerard Killoran wrote: Here's an example:
Tony demonstrating the sac, sac, mate approach to the Dragon as described by Fischer. A few years later in his career, Tony, along with Jon Mestel, demonstrated how Black should try to defend such positions. Among other players of that era, Whiteley and Levy also attempted to defend the Dragon, without much success against top level opposition.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1543870
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1128947

Andy Stoker
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Andy Stoker » Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:21 pm

Thank you for posting this - a fine slice of nostalgia for me - a near-contemporary of Tony Miles. I remember Tony demonstrating some of those Dragon ideas and feeling - once again - that he was a clever fellow. I played in the match London Schools vs Birmingham Schools - unwisely declining an offer of a draw from GD Lee (Board 6?) shortly before blundering in a Q+P endgame.

Geoff Chandler
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Geoff Chandler » Thu Oct 12, 2017 1:18 pm

That's a good find.

He is R.F.T Wood but they call him Frank (wonder if it is the same Frank Wood
whose daughter, Margaret, married Jonathan Penrose. Just curious.)

Hi Roger,

"Among other players of that era," (Dragon Players) Count 'man of the moment'
James Tarjan and Gennady Sosonko among that merry band.

I had a quick flick through Mile's & Moskow's (1979) book on the Yugoslav
just to see if Wood was mentioned perhaps in a variation..
Tarjan & Sosonko has more complete games in it than anyone else. (7 each)

Roger de Coverly
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Roger de Coverly » Thu Oct 12, 2017 2:20 pm

Geoff Chandler wrote: He is R.F.T Wood but they call him Frank (wonder if it is the same Frank Wood
whose daughter, Margaret, married Jonathan Penrose. Just curious.)
Doesn't it also say in the article that RFT is one of BH's children?

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Thu Oct 12, 2017 3:20 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Geoff Chandler wrote: He is R.F.T Wood but they call him Frank (wonder if it is the same Frank Wood
whose daughter, Margaret, married Jonathan Penrose. Just curious.)
Doesn't it also say in the article that RFT is one of BH's children?
Jonathan Penrose did marry a Margaret Wood. Her father, Frank Wood, was Hon. Secretary of Oxfordshire Chess Association.

The R. F. T. Wood in this article appears to be Frank, the son of B. H. Wood (as Roger pointed out).

The Margaret (known as Peggy) that was the daughter of B. H. Wood married Peter Hugh Clarke.

Does anyone know R. F. T. Wood's full name?

Richard James
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Richard James » Thu Oct 12, 2017 3:35 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Does anyone know R. F. T. Wood's full name?
His name is given in online birth records as Rex Frank T Wood, born Q1 1943 in Sutton Coldfield.

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Michael Farthing
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Michael Farthing » Thu Oct 12, 2017 3:44 pm

Andy Stoker wrote:Thank you for posting this - a fine slice of nostalgia for me - a near-contemporary of Tony Miles.
Same here! I seem to recall I played an Andrew Stoker in the the Chess magazine's (Junior) Postal Chess Club. - would have been late 60s maybe just into the 70s. Would I be right?

Tim Harding
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Tim Harding » Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:02 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Roger de Coverly wrote:
Geoff Chandler wrote: He is R.F.T Wood but they call him Frank (wonder if it is the same Frank Wood
whose daughter, Margaret, married Jonathan Penrose. Just curious.)
Doesn't it also say in the article that RFT is one of BH's children?
Jonathan Penrose did marry a Margaret Wood. Her father, Frank Wood, was Hon. Secretary of Oxfordshire Chess Association.

The R. F. T. Wood in this article appears to be Frank, the son of B. H. Wood (as Roger pointed out).

The Margaret (known as Peggy) that was the daughter of B. H. Wood married Peter Hugh Clarke.
Christopher's information is correct. Jonathan Penrose's father in law, Frank Wood, ran several Oxfordshire junior championships in the 1960s and I met him on many occasions. I believe I also met his daughter a few times but then she gave up chess, I think, whereas B.H.'s daughter (M. E. E. or Peggy Clarke) continued to play by correspondence until the early Noughties and earned the LIM title from ICCF.

It's just a coincidence that there was a Margaret (of similar ages) and a Frank in each family.
Tim Harding
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Author of 'Steinitz in London,' British Chess Literature to 1914', 'Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography', and 'Eminent Victorian Chess Players'
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Andy Stoker
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Andy Stoker » Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:43 pm

Postby Michael Farthing » Thu Oct 12, 2017 3:44 pm

Andy Stoker wrote:
Thank you for posting this - a fine slice of nostalgia for me - a near-contemporary of Tony Miles.


Same here! I seem to recall I played an Andrew Stoker in the the Chess magazine's (Junior) Postal Chess Club. - would have been late 60s maybe just into the 70s. Would I be right?
Spot on Michael - I played a few seasons in the Junior Postal Chess Club ... did you beat me? I have records of only one game from then - http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1233501 - I made heavy use of Mr Barden's Guardian Book of Chess - still on my shelves

Leonard Barden
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Leonard Barden » Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:47 pm

Andy Stoker wrote: Spot on Michael - I played a few seasons in the Junior Postal Chess Club ... did you beat me? I have records of only one game from then - http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1233501 - I made heavy use of Mr Barden's Guardian Book of Chess - still on my shelves
Delighted to see that the now outmoded Goring Gambit did the business for you. It still works for me in online blitz. I wanted to include it in a revision to Guide to Chess Openings, but my Forumite co-author Tim Harding vetoed it on the grounds that it was refuted by taking on c3 and b2 and then d7-d6.

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Thu Oct 12, 2017 6:03 pm

Leonard Barden wrote:
Andy Stoker wrote: Spot on Michael - I played a few seasons in the Junior Postal Chess Club ... did you beat me? I have records of only one game from then - http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1233501 - I made heavy use of Mr Barden's Guardian Book of Chess - still on my shelves
Delighted to see that the now outmoded Goring Gambit did the business for you. It still works for me in online blitz. I wanted to include it in a revision to Guide to Chess Openings, but my Forumite co-author Tim Harding vetoed it on the grounds that it was refuted by taking on c3 and b2 and then d7-d6.
Which seems to be pretty much correct, unfortunately for the more romantic minded.

Taking on c3 with the knight seems better anyway, though still only good enough for equality if Black knows what they are doing.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

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John Clarke
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by John Clarke » Thu Oct 12, 2017 11:04 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote:Among other players of that era, Whiteley and Levy also attempted to defend the Dragon, without much success against top level opposition.
Keene also gave it a go for a time, rather uncharacteristically. (In addition, he analysed it extensively in 2 articles for Chess late in 1966.) He seems to have abandoned it, at least for serious purposes, after this flop at Hastings early in 1968.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1071292

BTW I'm a bit surprised to see Whiteley was still trying the Dragon as late as the 70s. I can remember several discouraging losses between 1963 and 1966 where he'd used it against sub-GM opponents.
"The chess-board is the world ..... the player on the other side is hidden from us ..... he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance."
(He doesn't let you resign and start again, either.)

Roger de Coverly
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Roger de Coverly » Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:15 am

John Clarke wrote: He seems to have abandoned it, at least for serious purposes, after this flop at Hastings early in 1968.
That was the notorious Hastings where the 4 invited GMs decided to share first place. This meant that every so often they had to draw with one of four British players without it being too obvious. This evidently wasn't a game that Suetin needed to draw. The game Keene-Stein from that tournament is also a masterclass in how to cut up the English with a reverse Sicilian treatment.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1158250

Geoff Chandler
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Re: An early Tony Miles game

Post by Geoff Chandler » Fri Oct 13, 2017 2:33 am

Hi Roger,

Ha. OOPS. I went through the game on the PGN. did not see the notes in the game.

Hi Andy,

"I made heavy use of Mr Barden's Guardian Book of Chess,"

Not the only one. I won a few good Gorings after being tipped towards it from
that book and Paul Motwani in an lecture spoke very highly of the Guardian book.
I've also heard Dougie Bryson mention it.